magnificent
Americanadjective
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making a splendid appearance or show; of exceptional beauty, size, etc..
a magnificent cathedral; magnificent scenery.
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extraordinarily fine; superb.
a magnificent opportunity; magnificent weather.
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noble; sublime.
a magnificent poem.
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(usually initial capital letter) (formerly used as a title of some rulers) great; grand.
Lorenzo the Magnificent.
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lavishly munificent; extravagant.
a magnificent inheritance.
adjective
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splendid or impressive in appearance
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superb or very fine
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(esp of ideas) noble or elevated
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archaic great or exalted in rank or action
Related Words
Magnificent, gorgeous, splendid, superb are terms of high admiration and all are used informally in weak exaggeration. Something that is magnificent is beautiful, princely, grand, or ostentatious: a magnificent display of paintings; a magnificent view of the harbor. That which is gorgeous moves one to admiration by the richness and (often colorful) variety of its effects: a gorgeous array of handsome gifts. That which is splendid is dazzling or impressive in its brilliance, radiance, or excellence: splendid jewels; a splendid body of scholars. That which is superb is above others in, or is of the highest degree of, excellence, elegance, or (less often, today) grandeur: a superb concert; superb wines.
Other Word Forms
- magnificently adverb
- magnificentness noun
- supermagnificent adjective
- supermagnificently adverb
Etymology
Origin of magnificent
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin magnificent-, stem of magnificentior “grander,” comparative of magnificus magnific
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.
Championship football at the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be nothing short of total humiliation.
From BBC
Appropriately, “Unrolling Eternity” celebrates the ancient artists who created these magnificent “Books of the Dead” alongside the present-day conservators who have resurrected them.
"Our mission is to tell America's magnificent story."
From Barron's
California the magnificent, California the glorious, was slipping away, disappearing into smog, covered over by concrete.
From Los Angeles Times
“She is magnificent and so raw. I didn’t feel like I was watching someone acting. I was worried for her.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
