tremendous
[ trih-men-duh s ]
/ trɪˈmɛn dəs /
adjective
extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity: a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
extraordinary in excellence: a tremendous movie.
dreadful or awful, as in character or effect; exciting fear; frightening; terrifying.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
fantastic, colossal, awesome, marvelous, fabulous, formidable, dreadful, incredible, terrific, immense, amazing, wonderful, exceptional, astounding, great, extraordinary, excellent, prodigious, vast, enormous
Nearby words
- trembler,
- trembles,
- trembling poplar,
- tremblor,
- trembly,
- tremie,
- tremissis,
- tremolant,
- tremolite,
- tremolitic
Origin of tremendous
1625–35; < Latin tremendus dreadful, to be shaken by, equivalent to trem(ere) to shake, quake + -endus gerund suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tremendous
tremendous
/ (trɪˈmɛndəs) /
adjective
vast; huge
informal very exciting or unusual
informal (intensifier)a tremendous help
archaic terrible or dreadful
Word Origin for tremendous
C17: from Latin tremendus terrible, literally: that is to be trembled at, from tremere to quake
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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tremendous
1630s, "awful, dreadful, terrible," from Latin tremendus "fearful, terrible," literally "to be trembled at," gerundive form of tremere "to tremble" (see tremble). Hyperbolic or intensive sense of "extraordinarily great or good, immense" is attested from 1812, paralleling semantic changes in terrific, terribly, awfully, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper