splendid
Americanadjective
-
gorgeous; magnificent; sumptuous.
- Antonyms:
- squalid
-
grand; superb, as beauty.
- Synonyms:
- first-rate, elegant, majestic
-
distinguished or glorious, as a name, reputation, victory, etc.
- Synonyms:
- noble, brilliant, remarkable, celebrated, conspicuous, eminent, illustrious, famous, famed, renowned
- Antonyms:
- ignoble, mediocre, unremarkable, ordinary
-
strikingly admirable or fine.
splendid talents.
-
excellent, fine, or very good.
to have a splendid time.
-
brilliant in appearance, color, etc.
adjective
-
brilliant or fine, esp in appearance
-
characterized by magnificence; imposing
-
glorious or illustrious
a splendid reputation
-
brightly gleaming; radiant
her splendid face
splendid colours
-
very good or satisfactory
a splendid time
Related Words
See magnificent ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
- splendidly adverb
- splendidness noun
- unsplendid adjective
- unsplendidly adverb
- unsplendidness noun
Etymology
Origin of splendid
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin splendidus “brilliant,” equivalent to splend(ēre) “to shine” + -idus adjective suffix; -id 4
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.
Aimee Ng, chief curator at the Frick, has brought together 25 splendid portraits by Gainsborough—three of them from the museum’s holdings, the rest from collections in North America and the U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Her take is a maelstrom of splendid beauty and doomed love, colliding at a feverish pace that makes the fidelity to Brontë’s book moot.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
Elsewhere, Augsburg beat St Pauli 2-1 and Werder Bremen's Keke Topp snatched a point with a splendid late goal at home in a 1-1 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026
This team is no different, with several songs reaching iconic status simply based on the splendid feats that spring from their chords.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025
We buried the old clockmaker in the splendid suit and vest he had worn to the Hundredth Birthday Party, six years and another lifetime ago.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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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.