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
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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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.
Reports that the CFP is nearing a deal to expand the field from 12 to 24 teams in 2027 should be tremendous news for both schools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
That borrowing is now colliding with tremendous demand from the private sector, much of it from technology companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
If this explanation is correct, the two formations preserve evidence of the tremendous forces involved in assembling one of Earth's ancient supercontinents.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
"The conflict in Sudan, unfortunately, has been forgotten. And this is a conflict that has really reflected tremendous humanitarian suffering," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
They groaned from the tremendous effort, but together, they slowly muscled the massive thing into position, and aimed it directly at the mining robot.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
