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
Derived Forms
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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Wow! Synonyms for "Amazing"
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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.
Didn’t know how this combo would be for national anthem and it is AWESOME.
From Washington Times • Feb. 7, 2021
But I set my schlock filter to high and smoked out two attractions that were AWESOME.
From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2011
But it does seem absurdly manipulative to trot out Martin Luther King every time a brand gets the urge to evoke the Pavlovian "human nature is AWESOME" feeling.
From Salon • Sep. 30, 2010
"AWESOME GUY" Born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Kasich rose to prominence on the national political stage when he used his role as chairman of the House Budget Committee to help balance the federal budget.
From Reuters • Aug. 12, 2010
If I'd had enough rocks, I would have added, "AWESOME IDEA!!!"
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
