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
Related Words
See huge.
Other Word Forms
- tremendously adverb
- tremendousness noun
- untremendous adjective
- untremendousness noun
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
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.
Across income levels, four years of college comes at a tremendous expense relative to most families’ earnings, even after factoring in financial aid.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
“This is an audience who still wield tremendous influence,” Randolph said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
"It gives you tremendous peace of mind, knowing that you know they're going to do everything they can to come get you," Cantwell said.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Richardson acknowledges the tremendous breakthroughs in myeloma care and is highly appreciative of them.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
We had held tremendous hope for our teacher to be with us by the end of the school year—but he wasn’t.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
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.
