phenomenal
136
5.4
- adjective
- /fəˈnɪmənl/
- The athlete's performance was truly phenomenal, setting a new world record.
- phenomenal growth
- phenomenal rates
- phenomenal success
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Watch on YouTubeThe best riders are phenomenal at the corners.
- The best riders are phenomenal at the corners.
- I think she's just phenomenal because she's so clear.
- I mean, your ads, your GoDaddy ads were phenomenal, you know.
- Now we're in a really strong, phenomenal flow and routine.
- Not only is her technique phenomenal, but her groove is unreal.
- But they're all phenomenal talents in their respective areas.
- It's more just that he's phenomenal at what he does.
- And he, he was a phenomenal hockey player.
- And there's just been absolutely phenomenal memes.
- One of those was a a phenomenal new trend of fire.
Examples
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But it was, it was a phenomenal show, a fantastic crowd.
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And I can't stress enough, the crowd out on the course is absolutely phenomenal.
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I mean, it was just a a phenomenal success.
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And this brother is doing some phenomenal work in the city.
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The online education growth has been phenomenal for several years.
Academic text (2015) -
The amount of information available on the Internet continues to grow at a phenomenal rate.
Academic text (2001) -
We have a phenomenal exhibit.
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Gentlemen, yesterday's performance was phenomenal.
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The NP's record of success is all the more phenomenal in view of its brief history.
Academic text (1996) -
Foreign investors have played a crucial role in China's phenomenal growth during this period.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Very good and likely to make you feel happy or amazed
∞
1.0
Causing great surprise and admiration
∞
3.5
Very surprising or hard to believe
∞
1.0
Very good and better than most similar things
891
1.9
Very good and impressive, making you feel pleased
746
3.8
Very unusual or much greater than usual
671
3.0
Very large or impressive
650
3.3
Very strong and often causing great damage
634
3.4
Causing people to admire it, like a building or performance, because it is very good
591
2.8
Unusual and easy to notice because it is different or surprising
569
3.0
Impressive and large in appearance or style
289
3.5
Very impressive and exciting to look at
288
3.9
Very impressive and beautiful in appearance or style
241
3.4
Much better than most others in skill or quality
215
1.8
Very good and surprising in a way that pleases people
211
3.2
Very impressive and grand in appearance or style
159
4.1
Being much better than normal or usual
135
3.4
Very surprising and making you feel great wonder
116
3.5
Very impressive and beautiful
97
5.3
Very large and surprising in a way that shocks you
94
4.3
Very surprising and lucky in a way people cannot explain
54
5.8
Very impressive and causing strong surprise
27
4.1
Very good and impressive
20
6.7
Very large or impressive in a way that amazes people
19
7.5
Very large or impressive in a way that surprises people
3
2.8
Very impressive and exciting
3
4.2
So surprising that it seems hard to believe
1
4.1
Very impressive and making people feel amazed
1
5.5
Very impressive and much better than you expect
Very exciting and surprising to see
Antonyms
Compounds
How Impressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
phenomenal = phenomenon (semi-transparent) = phenomenon + al
The word is clearly formed from 'phenomenon' + '-al', but the modern sense 'extraordinarily good' is a figurative extension rather than a direct compositional meaning.
Etymology
Phenomenal comes from phenomenon, a word that originally meant 'something that appears' or 'shows itself'. So if a performance is phenomenal, it 'appears' in a big, striking way and stands out as wonderfully impressive.