awesome
Americanadjective
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causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear.
an awesome sight.
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exhibiting or marked by awe; showing reverence, admiration, or fear.
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Slang. very impressive.
That new white convertible is totally awesome.
adjective
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inspiring or displaying awe
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slang excellent or outstanding
Commonly Confused
See awful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of awesome
Explanation
An awesome something or someone is amazing, breathtaking, or overwhelming. Like traveling the globe in a hot air balloon or visiting the Taj Mahal. Or, if you're 7, hearing someone burp the alphabet. Awesome popped on the scene around 1600, probably in a church. It first meant “profoundly reverential,” but morphed later into an adjective meaning “inspiring awe.” Flash forward to the 20th century, when awesome transformed once again — this time into an everyday word for "impressive." These days it's synonymous with "outstanding" and "totally cool."
Vocabulary lists containing awesome
Beowulf vocabulary
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Wow! Synonyms for "Amazing"
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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.
England is - of course - the largest nation in what Boris Johnson described as the "awesome foursome" of the UK.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
The awesome power of creative bright minds funded by venture capital in the U.S. is the envy of the world, and for good reason.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
That guy’s there and he’s awesome, but it’s not the whole story.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
“Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what ’60 Minutes’ is always remains,” Anderson told viewers.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
"I wanted to take a photo of the slippers for my website because they were so awesome looking and special," Deirdre explained.
From "The Cinderella Ballet Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #4" by Carolyn Keene
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.
