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Synonyms

staggering

American  
[stag-uh-ring] / ˈstæg ə rɪŋ /

adjective

  1. tending to stagger or overwhelm.

    a staggering amount of money required in the initial investment.
ˈstaggering British  
/ ˈstæɡərɪŋ /

adjective

  1. astounding or overwhelming; shocking

    a staggering increase in demand
"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

Other Word Forms

  • staggeringly adverb
  • unstaggering adjective

Etymology

Origin of staggering

First recorded in 1555–65; stagger + -ing 2

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.

Yet nothing compares to the news that he sued his parents this week on the eve of opening day, accusing them of draining staggering amounts of his money from four financial accounts they created.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Human rights group Vocal Africa said the discovery was a "staggering and horrific escalation that exposes the true scale of this tragedy".

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Last year, consumers bought just $19 billion worth of them, out of a staggering $464 billion in total purchases of all kinds of annuities, the life-insurance industry group Limra has reported.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

For one, the debt load incurred across these purchases is staggering, and the means of covering it are no longer assured.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

Almost at once she was back again staggering under the weight of an enormous round chocolate cake on a china platter.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

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.