tremendous
Americanadjective
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extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity.
a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
-
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
Synonym Usage
See huge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
"I wanted to support the racers heading off... I think it's tremendous of him to put himself through this. It's incredible."
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
This unspoken desire hides deep in the catacombs of our juvenile vampire fantasies, an awareness that this fleeting time of youth and beauty coincides with tremendous anxiety, confusion and parentally imposed restrictions.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
“What we’re seeing is that this Spurs-Knicks series is a tremendous cultural moment,” Kelly said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
He frequently plucks from his tremendous word hoard gems that will send you to the dictionary: bonxie, fankle, rupestral, stramash, zawn.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
It is sure to sink under the tremendous weight.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
