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stupendous

stupendous

19 6.7
Very large or impressive in a way that amazes people
  • adjective
  • /stəˈpɛndəs/
translation icon : asombroso
  • They've developed a program of stupendous dimensions, and he is the genius behind it.
  • stupendous power
  • such a stupendous

What it means is you are alive against stupendous odds.

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Examples

  • Everything I learned was school of Hard Knocks and NCIX was a stupendous proving ground for me.

  • It makes up for it in a stupendous, complicated modulation and plasticity beyond any machine learner's dreams.

  • And so they give him words, right, like stupendous or lovely or brilliant.

  • That is an absolutely stupendous piece of work.

  • This young man thinks our little home is stupendous.

  • You see, I expected you to tell me something big, really stupendous.

  • So dinner party begins when one friend asks another about this extraordinary, legendary, stupendous dinner party.

  • I thought "Lincoln" was a stupendous movie and a must-see "event film" for every American.

    Blog text (28)
  • The difficulty with such high-speed spacecraft lies in the stupendous amounts of fuel needed to supply the energy to accelerate them.

    Academic text (1992)
  • The view from the mountain was stupendous, stretching for miles across the landscape.

Synonyms

amazing
vsstupendous
1.0

Causing great surprise and admiration

amplifies this by implying extraordinary size, amount, or degree
incredible
vsstupendous
3.5

Very surprising or hard to believe

leans more on real vastness or impressive magnitude rather than disbelief
awesome
vsstupendous
968 2.1

Very impressive and causing a strong feeling of wonder

places more weight on immense scale or astonishment rather than general impact
tremendous
vsstupendous
794 3.0

Very large or impressive

stresses both vast size and strong astonishment rather than only size
remarkable
vsstupendous
588 2.8

Unusual and easy to notice because it is different or surprising

raises that noticeability to an extreme level of size or amazement
impressive
vsstupendous
584 3.4

Causing people to admire it, like a building or performance, because it is very good

raises that admiration to an extreme, astonishing, or immense level
magnificent
vsstupendous
299 3.9

Very impressive and beautiful in appearance or style

pushes that grandeur further into astonishing size or overwhelming impressiveness
spectacular
vsstupendous
265 3.5

Very impressive and exciting to look at

adds the sense of immense size or degree beyond mere drama
phenomenal
vsstupendous
113 5.4

Very impressive and much better than normal

adds the idea of extreme size or degree as well as impressiveness
astounding
vsstupendous
92 4.1

So surprising and impressive that you feel amazed

adds emphasis on great size or degree alongside the astonishment
stunning
vsstupendous
83 4.1

Very surprising and having a strong effect on people

also implies overwhelming size or degree alongside that strong surprise
breathtaking
vsstupendous
77 3.5

A very beautiful and surprising sight that amazes you

focuses more on vastness or overwhelming impressiveness beyond beauty alone
wondrous
vsstupendous
60 5.8

Very impressive and causing strong surprise

combines that wonder with an emphasis on immense size or amount
colossal
vsstupendous
55 4.7

So large in size or amount that it causes great surprise

combines immensity with surprising or impressive quality, not only size
staggering
vsstupendous
24 5.3

Very large and surprising in a way that shocks you

includes vastness but also a sense of being astonishingly large or impressive
out of this world
vsstupendous
  • Informal
21 4.1

Very good and impressive

adds a concrete sense of vastness or astonishing magnitude to that feeling
indescribable
vsstupendous
21 5.4

So wonderful or strange that words cannot show it

is similar but specifically emphasizes vastness and astonishment rather than indescribability
prodigious
vsstupendous
19 7.5

Very large or impressive in a way that surprises people

adds a sense of being astonishing as well as being very large
awe-inspiring
vsstupendous
16 5.6

Causes people to feel great respect and wonder because it is very impressive

combines awe with remarkable size or degree rather than only feeling
beyond words
vsstupendous
14 6.2

So beautiful or moving that you cannot describe it

focuses more on massive size or shocking impressiveness than emotional speechlessness
fabulous
vsstupendous
5 4.2

So surprising that it seems hard to believe

emphasizes sheer immensity or astonishing scale rather than just disbelief
splendiferous
vsstupendous
5 9.9

Very beautiful and impressive, like at a big party

shifts focus toward sheer enormity or astonishing extent rather than beauty alone
astonishing
vsstupendous
5 3.4

Very surprising and making you feel great wonder

highlights immense scale or impressive degree as well as surprise
absolutely awesome
vsstupendous
  • Informal
2 2.8

Very impressive and exciting

includes the idea of astonishing size or degree rather than praise alone
stupefying
vsstupendous
1 7.7

So surprising and impressive that it leaves people stunned

focuses more on sheer greatness and amazement rather than just shock
simply awesome
vsstupendous
  • Informal
1 4.1

Very impressive and making people feel amazed

stresses enormity or astounding degree rather than casual praise
simply phenomenal
vsstupendous
1 5.5

Very impressive and much better than you expect

stresses enormous size or degree as part of that outstanding quality
splendorous
vsstupendous
  • Literature
1 7.5

Very beautiful and impressive to look at

adds the extra idea of being astonishingly large or immense in degree
killerly impressive
vsstupendous
  • Slang
9.3

Very exciting and surprising to see

adds an element of vastness or astonishment beyond mere excellence

Antonyms

104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

9 3.9

Not very good or likely to attract attention

How Impressive

stupendous
19 6.7
staggering
24 5.3
astonishing
5 3.4
remarkable
588 2.8
impressive
584 3.4

Surface Forms

stupendous positive
stupender comparative
stupendest superlative

Morphology

stupendous = stupend + ous

Although formed with the recognizable suffix '-ous', the root 'stupend' is not a standalone English word and the meaning 'astonishing' is not transparently derivable from more familiar words (e.g., 'stupor' or 'stupid' have different senses), so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning from its parts.

Etymology

Stupendous comes from the Latin verb stupere, which means 'to be amazed' and also gave us English words like stupor and stupid. So, stupendous means 'so amazing it stuns you', which is why we use it for something extremely impressive or very large.