legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈle-jən-ˌder-ē 

-ˌde-rē

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of legend or a legend

legendary creatures of the sea

2

: well-known, famous

a legendary football player

legendarily

ˌle-jən-ˈder-ə-lē 

-ˈde-rə-

adverb

Synonyms of legendary

• mythical
• famed
• fabled

Choose the Right Synonym for legendary

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented.

fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Examples of legendary in a Sentence

legendary creatures from the sea

He is the most legendary football player of his time.

Recent Examples on the Web

The restaurant and bar is named after his older brother Herb Brooks, a legendary Olympic hockey coach who died in an interstate car accident near Forest Lake in 2003. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026

But in the end, the series finale confirmed that the legendary detective was alive and suffering from amnesia. —Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026

In the movie, Weaver gets decked out in an X-wing fighter jumpsuit – the legendary orange number worn by Hamill back in the day – and gets to pilot a starship. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 May 2026

With all of the Yankees connections on the Mets, several players and coaches were familiar with John Sterling, the legendary radio play-by-play man who passed away Monday. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legendary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈlej-ən-ˌder-ē 

1

: of or resembling a legend

2

: well-known, famous