awesome
Americanadjective
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causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear.
an awesome sight.
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exhibiting or marked by awe; showing reverence, admiration, or fear.
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Slang. very impressive.
That new white convertible is totally awesome.
adjective
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inspiring or displaying awe
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slang excellent or outstanding
Commonly Confused
See awful.
Other Word Forms
- awesomely adverb
- awesomeness noun
Etymology
Origin of awesome
Explanation
An awesome something or someone is amazing, breathtaking, or overwhelming. Like traveling the globe in a hot air balloon or visiting the Taj Mahal. Or, if you're 7, hearing someone burp the alphabet. Awesome popped on the scene around 1600, probably in a church. It first meant “profoundly reverential,” but morphed later into an adjective meaning “inspiring awe.” Flash forward to the 20th century, when awesome transformed once again — this time into an everyday word for "impressive." These days it's synonymous with "outstanding" and "totally cool."
Vocabulary lists containing awesome
Beowulf vocabulary
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myPerspectives 9.5
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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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.
But it didn’t have to be so awesome.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
"To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can."
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
“I think it’s awesome for women’s basketball and the progress going forward,” Leger-Walker said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
In an arena full of stars in the stands and on the court it was the voice of a 6-year-old that reminded us how awesome it is to be a Lakers fan for life!
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
Here’s the next Orlando—a place so awesome it’s a shoo-in for Dino-land!
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
