awesome

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Early Modern English 1590-1600, from awe +‎ -some. Compare Old English eġeful (“fearful, inspiring awe”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɔːsəm/, X-SAMPA: /"O:s@m/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɔs.əm/, X-SAMPA: /"Os@m/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA: /ˈɑs.əm/, X-SAMPA: /"As@m/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

awesome (comparative more awesome, superlative most awesome)

1. Causing awe or terror; inspiring wonder or excitement.

   The waterfall in the middle of the rainforest was an awesome sight.

   The tsunami was awesome in its destructive power.

2. (colloquial) Excellent, exciting, remarkable.

   That was awesome!

   Awesome, dude!

Usage notes

The oldest meaning of "awesome" is "something which inspires awe", but the word is also a common slang expression in English, originally from America. As the original meaning of awesome has become somewhat antiquated in general use, the term awe-inspiring is now generally used for the same meaning.

Synonyms

• (excellent): excellent, super, phenomenal, fantastic, terrific; wicked, bang-up, cool, sweet (slang or informal); chur, cher (New Zealand)

Derived terms

• awesomely
• awesomeness
• awesomest

Related terms

• awe-inspiring
• awful

Translations

causing awe or terror

• Armenian: ահեղ (hy) (aheġ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 令人敬畏的 (cmn) (lìngrén jìngwèi de)

• Czech: strašný (cs) m
• Dutch: angstaanjagend (nl), beangstigend (nl)
• Finnish: vaikuttava (fi), mahtava (fi), pelottava (fi)
• French: impressionnant (fr), terrifiant (fr)

• German: furchteinflößend (de), fürchterlich (de), furchterregend (de)
• Hungarian: félelmetes (hu)
• Italian: impressionante (it)
• Lithuanian: bauginantis (lt) m
• Russian: устрашающий (ru) (ustrašájuščij), внушающий страх (ru) (vnušájuščij strax), ужасающий (ru) (užasájuščij)
• Turkish: korkunç (tr)

excellent, exciting

• Albanian: birinxhi (sq)
• Armenian: հիանալի (hy) (hianali)
• Bengali: ফাটাফাটি (bn) (faţafaţi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 了不起 (cmn) (liǎobuqǐ), 不錯 (cmn), 不错 (cmn) (bùcuò), (vulgar) 牛比 (cmn) (niúbǐ), 酷 (cmn) (kù), 酷斃了 (cmn), 酷毙了 (cmn) (kù bì le), 棒 (cmn) (bàng)

• Czech: skvělý (cs), úžasný (cs)
• Dutch: indrukwekkend (nl)
• Finnish: mahtava (fi)
• French: magnifique (fr), (formally or slang) génial (fr), formidable (fr)
• German: großartig (de), beeindruckend (de), (slang) toll (de)
• Hungarian: klassz (hu), óriási (hu)
• Italian: magnifico (it), splendido (it)

• Japanese: すごい (ja) (sugoi), 素敵 (ja) (すてき, suteki), クール (ja) (kūru), 素晴らしい (ja) (すばらしい, subarashii)
• Korean: 쩐다 (ko) (jjeonda)
• Lithuanian: stulbinantis (lt) m, nuostabus (lt) m
• Navajo: nizhóní
• Polish: super (pl), (vulgar) zajebisty m
• Portuguese: do caralho (pt)
• Russian: крутой (ru) (krutój), клёвый (ru) (kljóvyj), классный (ru) (klássnyj), потрясный (ru) (potrjásnyj), (adverb only) здорово (ru) (zdórovo), потрясающий (ru) (potrjasájuščij)
• Serbo-Croatian: do jaja (sh)
• Spanish: tremendo (es), piola (es)
• Turkish: harika (tr), huşu veren (tr) (religious), süper (tr) (slang)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 勁, 正

Noun

awesome (uncountable)

1. (Internet slang) The quality, state, or essence of being awesome or cool; awesomeness.
   • 2011, Gwen Hayes, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Samhain Publishing, Ltd. (2011), ISBN 9781609284619, page 6:

     Plus, her patent leather boots were made of awesome. They made her legs look longer and leaner.

   • 2011, Kevin Seccia, Punching Tom Hanks: Dropkicking Gorillas and Pummeling Zombified Ex-Presidents—A Guide to Beating Up Anything, St. Martin's Press (2011), ISBN 9780312643744, page 189:

     Swayze, of course, is the being of pure awesome who has by now conquered all of Heaven.

   • 2013, Carrie Jones, Captivate, Bloomsbury (2010), ISBN 9781599903422, page 150:

     “Your grandmother,” he mumbles into my hair as we cuddle on the couch, “is made of awesome.”

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see the citations page.

Synonyms

• awesome sauce (Internet slang)

Antonyms

• fail (slang), weaksauce (slang)