phenomenal

See also: phénoménal

English

Alternative forms

• phænomenal (archaic)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-né-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti

Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō

Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)

Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor.

Late Latin phaenomenonder.

English phenomenon

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālisbor.

Old French -albor.

▲

Latin -ālis

Old French -elbor.

▲

Latin -ālisbor.

Middle English -al

English -al

▲

Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor.

French phénomène

▲

Old French -al

Middle French -al

French -al

French phénoménalbor.

English phenomenal

From phenomenon +‎ -al, after French phénoménal.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/, /fə-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /fɪˈnɑmɪnəl/
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /fɪˈnɔmɪnəl/

Adjective

phenomenal (comparative more phenomenal, superlative most phenomenal)

1. (colloquial) Very remarkable; highly extraordinary; amazing.

   phenomenal effort

   phenomenal musician

   phenomenal success

   phenomenal victory

   • 2025 November 26, David Stubbings, “Rolling stock strategy 'will give clarity'”, in RAIL, number 1049, page 7:

     But he added: "In many places it is likely that battery-electric trains and partial electrification will be more cost-effective than full electrification," describing the costs of full electrification as "phenomenal" while battery costs fall.

2. (sciences) Perceptible by the senses through immediate experience.
3. (philosophy) Of or pertaining to the appearance of the world, as opposed to the ultimate nature of the world as it is in itself.

Synonyms

• (very remarkable): awesome (slang)

Derived terms

• epiphenomenal
• extraphenomenal
• hyperphenomenal
• isophenomenal
• macrophenomenal
• metaphenomenal
• microphenomenal
• nonphenomenal
• paraphenomenal
• phenomenal consciousness
• phenomenalism
• phenomenalist
• phenomenalistic
• phenomenality
• phenomenalize
• phenomenally
• phenomenalness
• phenomenal world
• protophenomenal
• superphenomenal
• symphenomenal
• transphenomenal
• unphenomenal

Translations

remarkable

• Bulgarian: забележителен (bg) (zabeležitelen), необикновен (bg) (neobiknoven)
• Catalan: fenomenal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 現象級 / 现象级 (xiànxiàngjí), 非凡的 (zh) (fēifán de)

• Finnish: ilmiömäinen (fi)
• French: phénoménal (fr)
• Georgian: ფენომენალური (penomenaluri), არაჩვეულებრივი (aračveulebrivi)
• German: phänomenal (de)
• Hungarian: fenomenális (hu)
• Indonesian: fenomenal (id)
• Italian: fenomenale (it)
• Japanese: 驚異的な (ja) (きょういてきな, kyōiteki na)
• Korean: 경이적인 (gyeong'ijeogin)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: diyardeyî (ku), fenomenal

• Manx: ard-yindyssagh
• Polish: fenomenalny (pl), niezwykły (pl), arcydobry
• Portuguese: fenomenal (pt)
• Romanian: fenomenal (ro)
• Russian: феномена́льный (ru) (fenomenálʹnyj), необыкнове́нный (ru) (neobyknovénnyj)
• Spanish: fenomenal (es)
• Turkish: fenomenal (tr)

sciences: perceptible

• Bulgarian: осезаем (bg) (osezaem)
• Catalan: fenomènic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 感性的 (gǎnxìng de)

• Finnish: havaittava (fi)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: diyardeyî (ku), fenomenal

philosophy: pertaining to the appearance of the world

• Catalan: fenomènic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 現象的 / 现象的 (xiànxiàng de)

• Finnish: fenomenaalinen
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: diyardeyî (ku), fenomenal

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} fenomenaal (nl)
• German: ^{(please verify)} phänomenal (de), ^{(please verify)} fabelhaft (de), ^{(please verify)} sagenhaft (de), ^{(please verify)} ausgezeichnet (de)

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “phenomenal”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.