stupendous
Americanadjective
-
causing amazement; astounding; marvelous.
stupendous news.
- Synonyms:
- extraordinary
-
amazingly large or great; immense.
a stupendous mass of information.
- Synonyms:
- prodigious, gigantic, vast, colossal
adjective
Other Word Forms
- stupendously adverb
- stupendousness noun
Etymology
Origin of stupendous
1965–70; < Latin stupendus, gerund of stupēre to be stunned; see -ous
Explanation
Stupendous means amazing or awesome. You just won a million dollars and are donating it to charity? That’s stupendous! While you might think of stupid as a mean word for someone who isn’t smart, it can also mean senseless or stunned. If something stuns you so much that you are amazed, it is stupendous. Think of a stupendous performance or stupendous scenery. When something is big enough to astound, also use this word. The tower rose to a stupendous height. It would take a stupendous effort to improve your D in history to an A!
Vocabulary lists containing stupendous
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Take the stupendous performance of Apple’s stock during Cook’s tenure.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
The S&P 500 index, even with its recent wobbles, has returned a stupendous 273% over the past decade, or more than 14% a year.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Did we reward him for this stupendous, life-altering, lifesaving discovery?
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
I ate at Lutece and tried Chef Isabel Coss's stupendous honey semifreddo with comte and honeycomb.
From Salon • May 24, 2025
“Big Ma! Come here! Come here! I have something stupendous to show you. Unbelievably stupendous.”
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
