tremendous
Americanadjective
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extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity.
a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
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extraordinary in excellence.
a tremendous movie.
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dreadful or awful, as in character or effect; exciting fear; frightening; terrifying.
adjective
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vast; huge
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informal very exciting or unusual
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informal (intensifier)
a tremendous help
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archaic terrible or dreadful
Related Words
See huge.
Other Word Forms
- tremendously adverb
- tremendousness noun
- untremendous adjective
- untremendousness noun
Etymology
Origin of tremendous
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin tremendus “dreadful, to be shaken by,” equivalent to trem(ere) “to shake, quake” + -endus gerund suffix
Explanation
Tremendous means extraordinarily large in size, extent, amount, power, or degree. It can also mean really marvelous and fantastic — or really awful and terrible. We often use tremendous if something is super wonderful. If someone comes into your office and tells you you just won a big contract and are getting a huge bonus, you might exclaim, “Tremendous!” Tremendous comes from the Latin for "trembling," and is connected with fear. Something tremendous can be big in a terrifying way, like the tremendous noise of an approaching hurricane, or a tremendous tidal wave about to crash on the shore.
Vocabulary lists containing tremendous
Bud, Not Buddy
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Living Large: Synonyms for "Big"
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The Launch of Sputnik 1
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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.
"Most of the investors who are propping up the games industry have frankly fled to AI to a tremendous degree," says Pearce.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
A potential failure of a highly-levered trading firm could have tremendous impact on bank balance sheets, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
“Having vets like Kelsey Plum and Erica Wheeler around a young guard like that is a tremendous opportunity for her,” Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Although the technology remains in its infancy, there has been tremendous technical progress over the past year alone.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Just as it appeared certain that Leeman’s warning had been too late, there was a tremendous shriek and the second train came to a halt.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
