tremendous
Americanadjective
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extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity.
a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
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extraordinary in excellence.
a tremendous movie.
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dreadful or awful, as in character or effect; exciting fear; frightening; terrifying.
adjective
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vast; huge
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informal very exciting or unusual
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informal (intensifier)
a tremendous help
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archaic terrible or dreadful
Synonym Usage
See huge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of tremendous
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin tremendus “dreadful, to be shaken by,” equivalent to trem(ere) “to shake, quake” + -endus gerund suffix
Explanation
Tremendous means extraordinarily large in size, extent, amount, power, or degree. It can also mean really marvelous and fantastic — or really awful and terrible. We often use tremendous if something is super wonderful. If someone comes into your office and tells you you just won a big contract and are getting a huge bonus, you might exclaim, “Tremendous!” Tremendous comes from the Latin for "trembling," and is connected with fear. Something tremendous can be big in a terrifying way, like the tremendous noise of an approaching hurricane, or a tremendous tidal wave about to crash on the shore.
Vocabulary lists containing tremendous
Bud, Not Buddy
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Living Large: Synonyms for "Big"
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The Launch of Sputnik 1
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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.
After defying tremendous odds to get the U.S. into the World Cup 36 years ago, he’s now battling an entrenched bureaucracy in an effort to build the support system the sport needs to thrive.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Speaking about being a bridesmaid to the late Queen to the Telegraph in 2017, Lady Pamela described the experience as a "tremendous rush", as she had to return to the UK from India.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
A separate raft of duties, tied to section 301 tariff rules that give the government tremendous leeway, are expected over the coming weeks.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
"For decades, we've observed tremendous variability in how autism manifests, but we lacked direct evidence that these differences reflected distinct underlying biology," said Dr. Alessandro Gozzi, at Italian Institute of Technology.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
The cliff tipped forward, slowly at first, but gaining speed, until it crashed into the surf with a tremendous explosion of sea spray.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
