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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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.
“We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. You know, we have ammunition stored all over the world in different countries.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It’s not too little; the 64,000-square-foot space, which will be tremendous in a prime location near the beach and shopping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
His government runs a number of scheme aimed at uplifting women and Modi enjoys tremendous popularity among female voters.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“We spent tremendous amounts of our early capital starting that program at a point in time that, quite frankly, was very risky,” Castelion Chief Executive Bryon Hargis said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Barrel-maker John Flynn was also working in the building and had just stepped out on the platform for a breath of air when he was startled by a tremendous noise behind him.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
