stupendous

adjective

stu·​pen·​dous stu̇-ˈpen-dəs How to pronounce stupendous (audio)
styu̇-
Synonyms of stupendous
1
: causing astonishment or wonder : awesome, marvelous
2
: of amazing size or greatness : tremendous
stupendously adverb
stupendousness noun

Synonyms of stupendous

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus
Choose the Right Synonym for stupendous

monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive.

monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness.

the monstrous waste of the project

prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size).

made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside

tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe.

the tremendous roar of the cataract

stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description.

a stupendous volcanic eruption

Examples of stupendous in a Sentence

a person with stupendous wealth the stupendous engineering feats achieved by the ancient Romans
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The memoirs were a stupendous best-seller, 10,000 door-to-door canvassers selling 325,000 two-volume sets in 1886, earning the general’s widow and children as much as $15 million in today’s dollars. — Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026 Success, no matter how stupendous, harbors within it the seed of potential failure if taken for granted and not built upon. — Naazneen Karmali, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Or better yet, plunk down on one of the three beaches and soak up the stupendous view. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 July 2026 The defense has been stupendous, especially from center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 17 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for stupendous

Word History

Etymology

Latin stupendus, gerundive of stupēre

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stupendous was in 1618

Rhymes for stupendous

See All Rhymes for stupendous

Browse Nearby Words

stupefyingly
stupendous
stupendously
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stupendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupendous. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

stupendous

adjective
stu·​pen·​dous st(y)u̇-ˈpen-dəs How to pronounce stupendous (audio)
: amazing especially because of great size or height
stupendous gorges
stupendously adverb
stupendousness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All