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totally rad

totally rad

2 9.1
Very cool and exciting, like a great outfit or trick
  • adjective
  • /ˈtoʊtəli ræd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : totalmente genial
  • My friend just got a totally rad skateboard that I can't wait to try.
  • Oh, totally rad
  • Like, totally rad

Examples

  • The concert last night was totally rad; the band played all my favorite songs.

  • But it's Mott the Hoople, so it's still totally rad and hardcore.

  • Is it always this totally rad?

  • Like, totally rad stick, dude.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • This is totally rad, I mean, you're my big little brother.

  • Dude kicked out of a bar for having a totally rad mullet?

    Blog text (32)
  • Like, totally rad, dude!

  • It's totally rad.

    Blog text (8)
  • Her new haircut looks totally rad and suits her style perfectly.

Synonyms

awesome
vstotally rad
968 2.1

Very impressive and causing a strong feeling of wonder

is closer to casual coolness and excitement rather than awe
cool
vstotally rad
  • Informal
965 2.8

Acceptable and good enough for the situation

is much stronger showing extreme impressiveness or excellence
mean
vstotally rad
  • Slang
77 7.5

Very good and impressive at a skill

is more about coolness and impressive effect rather than pure quality
rad
vstotally rad
  • Slang
23 8.6

Very cool and impressive in a casual way

is more extreme in degree of coolness and praise
absolutely awesome
vstotally rad
  • Informal
2 2.8

Very impressive and exciting

is equally extreme but focuses more on being cool or trendy
lit
vstotally rad
  • Slang
8.6

Having a lot of fun and excitement, often about parties or events

is similar but applies more generally to coolness or impressiveness
killerly impressive
vstotally rad
  • Slang
9.3

Very exciting and surprising to see

is more informal and emphasizes being cool rather than formal praise

Antonyms

182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

9 3.9

Not very good or likely to attract attention

How Cool

incredible
3.5
awesome
968 2.1
totally rad
  • Archaic
2 9.1
cool
  • Informal
2.2
okay
1.0

Surface Forms

totally rad positive

Morphology

totally + rad

The phrase is a straightforward composition of the intensifier 'totally' plus the adjective 'rad', so the meaning 'extremely cool' is directly derivable from knowing both words. Although 'rad' is slang, the intensifier + adjective pattern is transparent and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings.

Etymology

Totally rad comes from 1980s surfer and skateboarder slang. They called big, exciting waves or tricks 'radical', shortened it to rad, and adding totally made the praise stronger, so totally rad now means 'extremely cool'.