legendary

American  

[lej-uhn-der-ee] / ˈlɛdʒ ənˌdɛr i /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a legend.

   Synonyms:

   superhuman, strange, supernatural, heroic

2. celebrated or described in legend.

   a legendary hero.

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noun

• legendaries
  plural

1. a collection of legends.

legendary British  

/ ˈlɛdʒəndərɪ, -drɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to legend

2. celebrated or described in a legend or legends

3. very famous or notorious

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prelegendary
  adjective
• pseudolegendary
  adjective
• quasi-legendary
  adjective
• semilegendary
  adjective
• legendarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• legendaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of legendary

From the Medieval Latin word legendārius, dating back to 1505–15. See legend, -ary

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

legendary legendaries

Of course there was the spiritual talisman: late broadcaster Bob Uecker, a native Milwaukeean who followed his pedestrian playing career with a legendary run as the affable chorus in the booth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

In the past few weeks alone, an OpenAI internal model solved one of the legendary Millennium Prize Problems and then several hundred more open problems, which seemed inconceivable even a few months ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

One of Hollywood’s legendary music recording studios is for sale as its owner prepares to end his half-century run immortalizing many of the biggest acts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United have struggled to get close to the success they enjoyed under the 26-year reign of the legendary Scot.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Lee had 61,000 men in his army and was assisted by another of the Confederacy’s legendary commanders, Stonewall Jackson.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

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

All exotics could be leveled using one or two easily-purchasable shards, and even all old legendaries could now reach new damage max levels using the more rare Etheric Light.

From Forbes ● Jul. 21, 2015

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

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Related Words

• fabled
• fabulous
• mythical
• storied

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