stupendous

English

Etymology

First attested from 1547, from Late Latin stupendus (“stunning, amazing”), from Latin stupere (“to be stunned”). See also stupid.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛndəs

Adjective

stupendous (comparative more stupendous, superlative most stupendous)

1. Astonishingly great or large; huge; enormous.

   One cannot appreciate how stupendous the Matterhorn is without seeing it.

2. Of stunning volume, degree, or excellence; marvelous.

   The renovator created a stupendous new look for our house.

   • 2008, Philip Roth, Indignation:

     The sheer unimaginableness of coming into her mouth — of coming into anything other than the air or a tissue or a dirty sock — was an allurement too stupendous for a novice to forswear.

Synonyms

• colossal, enormous, huge, marvelous, prodigious, terrific, tremendous
• See also Thesaurus:gigantic

Derived terms

• stupendously
• stupendousness

Related terms

• stupid
• stupor

Translations

astonishingly great or large; huge; enormous

• Dutch: verbazend (nl), verbazingwekkend (nl), kolossaal (nl), overweldigend (nl)
• Japanese: とてつもない (totetsumonai), 途轍もない (totetsumonai)

• Russian: грома́дный (ru) (gromádnyj), огро́мный (ru) (ogrómnyj), колосса́льный (ru) (kolossálʹnyj)

of stunning volume, degree, or excellence; marvelous

• Hungarian: rendkívüli (hu)
• Japanese: とてつもない (totetsumonai), 途轍もない (totetsumonai)

• Russian: грандиозный (ru) (grandioznyj), (grandióznyj) изумительный (izumítel'nij)

Trivia

One of four common words ending in -dous, which are hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, and tremendous.

References

• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.