goodness gracious
5
7.5
- idiom
- /ˈɡʊdnəs ˈɡreɪʃəs/
- Archaic
:
¡Dios mío!
- Oh my goodness gracious, look at this beast.
- Oh, goodness gracious
- Goodness gracious, yes
Well, goodness gracious, does this do something right.
- Well, goodness gracious, does this do something right.
- Anyway, Oh my goodness gracious me.
- This is like the best invention in the entire Oh my goodness gracious.
- We got the lush setting, we got the audio, and we got the Oh my God, Oh my goodness gracious.
- I got to tell you goodness gracious, but we won't go there.
- God damn goodness gracious me, my heavens, lordy me.
- Now I'm taking my kids for a walk, then I'm going cycling, then I'm going to the beach, then I'm doing this, then I'm doing that, then I'm doing, Oh my goodness gracious.
Examples
-
OK, well, goodness gracious, we're screwed.
-
And wow, goodness gracious, that is possibly the funkiest, most cosmic cactus that I have ever seen.
-
All right, goodness gracious, I just got to get better up here.
-
Next morning you wake up and said, my goodness gracious, what have I done, right?
-
Anyway, Oh my goodness gracious me.
-
Well, goodness gracious, does this do something right.
-
And I thought, my goodness gracious, this, this really the way to live.
-
Goodness gracious, here I go again with the 5 stars!
Blog text (23) -
Goodness gracious, look at this messy thing.
-
goodness gracious, I can't believe we actually won the game!
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A short word people say to show surprise or admiration
347
8.9
An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something
90
8.9
A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance
36
9.4
A short sound people say to show surprise or admiration
35
8.2
An exclamation that shows strong surprise or shock
31
8.7
A quiet sound people make when they are surprised or impressed
26
9.9
A strong phrase people say when they are very surprised or shocked
24
9.9
A word people say to show mild surprise
17
9.4
A short informal cry showing surprise or strong feeling
16
8.3
A short sound people say to show surprise or excitement
9
7.7
A short phrase people say to show surprise, shock, or admiration
9
9.9
Adds strong anger or surprise to what you say
8
7.6
A short phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief
8
2.6
Words people say when they are surprised to see something
4
9.9
A short informal word people say when they feel surprise, shock, or annoyance
4
9.1
A soft sound you make when something feels good or brings relief
4
9.5
A short word people say when they are surprised or shocked
3
8.2
A short cry to show strong surprise or admiration
3
8.4
A short sound people make when they suddenly understand something
3
6.7
A short cry people say when they are very surprised
3
9.6
To say when you are very surprised or shocked
3
9.9
A short sound people make to show surprise or admiration
3
9.9
An old word people say to show surprise or shock
2
9.6
A short surprised phrase people say when they are shocked
2
9.9
An informal word people say to show surprise, annoyance, or that they do not believe something
2
7.0
To show surprise, shock or disbelief in a mild, polite way
1
9.9
A short old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling
1
9.9
An old expression showing surprise or shock
A friendly phrase people say to show surprise or excitement
A short phrase people say when they feel surprised or do not believe something
To say or write a short exclamation to show surprise
A short shout to show surprise or amazement
To show surprise or doubt
A word people say to show strong surprise
A short shout that shows surprise or shock
An old-fashioned shout said to show surprise or shock
A loud informal shout that shows surprise, shock, or strong annoyance
Words people say to show relief, joy or surprise
A short cry of surprise when something is hard to believe
A strong spoken reaction showing surprise and disbelief
A strong cry showing surprise or shock
A short phrase people say to show surprise at something amazing
Often comes before a word to show anger or surprise
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
goodness + gracious
This is a conventional exclamation where 'goodness' is already used as a mild interjection and 'gracious' acts like an intensifier; a learner who knows both words would get a partial clue that the phrase is exclamatory. However, the expression is formulaic and its pragmatic force and fixed pairing are not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure is needed for the exact meaning and usage.
Etymology
Goodness gracious comes from people using mild words instead of stronger religious shouts. Saying goodness and gracious was a polite way to mean 'good God' when someone wanted to show 'surprise' without offending others, so today it is used to show 'surprise' or 'shock'.