legendary
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or of the nature of a legend.
- Synonyms:
- superhuman, strange, supernatural, heroic
-
celebrated or described in legend.
a legendary hero.
noun
-
legendaries
plural
adjective
-
of or relating to legend
-
celebrated or described in a legend or legends
-
very famous or notorious
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
prelegendaryadjective
-
pseudolegendaryadjective
-
quasi-legendaryadjective
-
semilegendaryadjective
-
legendarilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of legendary
From the Medieval Latin word legendārius, dating back to 1505–15. See legend, -ary
Explanation
It's one thing to be famous. It's another thing altogether to be legendary, or like a legend. The Monkees were a famous band. The Beatles are legendary — for most people, they are almost mythical in their greatness. There are a couple of ways to become legendary, but, however you get there, you have to become a legend. The first way is to be better at something than anyone else ever was. Michael Jordan, for example, is a legendary basketball player. The other way is to be known — and yet remain mysterious — for a very long time. The legendary Loch Ness Monster, for example, is very well known for a creature that (almost?) no one has ever actually seen.
Vocabulary lists containing legendary
The Crossover
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We Were Liars
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In 2023, Parton was escorted onto the field by legendary Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning to lead the crowd in singing “Rocky Top” following the first quarter of the Volunteers’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
This is a club who have had some legendary goalscorers in Gerd Muller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Robert Lewandowski.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
He was so impressed that he rushed it to Robert Parker, the legendary wine critic, who awarded it a solid score of 82 out of 100, and made a video highlighting the wine’s balance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Hittner’s decision came down on the same day Parton, the 80-year-old legendary songwriter, actor and businesswoman, died following a brief battle with cancer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Now, that wasn't what I'd expected to hear from history's most legendary warrior, but I was still hungry from my time of being...not alive, so I followed him.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
It is possible to take on easy ones on your own, but for legendaries, it’s best to find some friends.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2018
But who knows, maybe if Niantic releases the legendaries and 2nd generation Pokémon I might risk it.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 6, 2016
The game has gotten slow for me now that I have completed my Pokédex, except of course for the legendaries and region-exclusive Pokémon.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 6, 2016
Outside of these two major themes, the game is littered with other awesome new cards, especially a fleet of legendaries with amazing and occasionally hilarious new abilities.
From Forbes ● Dec. 12, 2014
So the poet freely indulged his genius during these Aldgate days, turning and returning the leaves of his French and Italian legendaries, and evoking such ghosts as he pleased to live again on earth.
From Chaucer and His England by G. G. Coulton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
