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definitions

spectacular

[spek-tak-yuh-ler]
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adjective
  1. of or like a spectacle; marked by or given to an impressive, large-scale display.
  2. dramatically daring or thrilling: a spectacular dive from a cliff.
noun
  1. a single television production featuring well-known performers and characterized by elaborate sets, costumes, staging, etc.Compare special(def 14).
  2. an impressive, large-scale display: another Hollywood spectacular.

Origin of spectacular

1675–85; < Latin spectācul(um) (see spectacle) + -ar1
Related formsspec·tac·u·lar·i·ty [spek-tak-yuh-lar-i-tee] /spɛkˌtæk yəˈlær ɪ ti/, spec·tac·u·lar·ism, nounspec·tac·u·lar·ly, adverbnon·spec·tac·u·lar, adjectivenon·spec·tac·u·lar·ly, adverbun·spec·tac·u·lar, adjectiveun·spec·tac·u·lar·ly, adverb

Synonyms for spectacular

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2. hair-raising, dramatic, breathtaking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for spectacularity

greatness, splendor, elegance, richness, radiance, majesty, show, brilliance, pomp, glitter, style, swank, lavishness, beauty, importance, ostentation, post, flourish, grace, loftiness

Examples from the Web for spectacularity

Historical Examples of spectacularity

  • Nature's spectacularity diverted him, as if he had been a child, from his own affairs, which seemed to give him a dull pain.

    The Debtor

    Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

  • But here in Golden, which had been his home, the spectacularity of his passing seemed to have had an even more profound effect.

    Down the Columbia

    Lewis R. Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for spectacularity

spectacular

adjective
  1. of or resembling a spectacle; impressive, grand, or dramatic
  2. unusually marked or greata spectacular increase in spending
noun
  1. a lavishly produced performance
Derived Formsspectacularly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for spectacularity

spectacular

adj.

1680s, from Latin spectaculum (see spectacle). As a noun, first attested 1890. Related: Spectacularly.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper