Meanings
comparative more stupendous · superlative most stupendous
- Astonishingly great or large; huge; enormous.
One cannot appreciate how stupendous the Matterhorn is without seeing it.
2 more examples
The entrance to Fonthill—that truly cloud-capt palace, so fantastic and so transitory—was by two stupendous doors, which seemed to defy the strength of giants.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 80Over the broadest there seemed to spring a cragged and stupendous arch, from which, as from the jaws of hell, gushed the sources of the sudden Phlegethon.
1834, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, The Last Days of Pompeii - Of stunning excellence or degree; marvelous.
The renovator created a stupendous new look for our house.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveso great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Late Latinstupendus“stunning, amazing”
- Englishstupendous
First attested from 1547, from Late Latin stupendus (“stunning, amazing”), from the verb stupeō (“(I) am stunned”). Doublet of stupend (which is obsolete), and related to stupor and stupid.
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian изумителен, поразителен
- изумителен (izumitelen)astonishingly great or large
- поразителен (porazitelen)of stunning excellence
Czech ohromný, obrovský
- ohromnýastonishingly great or large
- obrovskýastonishingly great or large
- nesmírnýastonishingly great or large
- úžasnýof stunning excellence
Dutch verbazend, verbazingwekkend
- verbazendastonishingly great or large
- verbazingwekkendastonishingly great or large
- kolossaalastonishingly great or large
- overweldigendastonishingly great or large
Esperanto kolosa
- kolosaastonishingly great or large
French merveilleux
- merveilleuxastonishingly great or large
Hindi विस्मयकारी, ग़ज़ब
- विस्मयकारी (vismaykārī)astonishingly great or large
- ग़ज़ब (ġazab)astonishingly great or large
Hungarian rendkívüli
- rendkívüliof stunning excellence
Japanese 途轍もない, 途轍もない
- 途轍もない (totetsumonai)astonishingly great or large
- 途轍もない (totetsumonai)of stunning excellence
Norwegian fantastisk
- fantastiskastonishingly great or large
Portuguese estupendo
- estupendoof stunning excellence
Russian грома́дный, огро́мный
- грома́дный (gromádnyj)astonishingly great or large
- огро́мный (ogrómnyj)astonishingly great or large
- колосса́льный (kolossálʹnyj)astonishingly great or large
- грандио́зный (grandióznyj)of stunning excellence
- изуми́тельный (izumítelʹnyj)of stunning excellence
Spanish groso, estupendo
- grosoastonishingly great or large
- estupendoof stunning excellence
- de butenof stunning excellence
- de buteof stunning excellence
- grosoof stunning excellence
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with stupendous
All rhymes →Cite this entry
stupendous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stupendous
“stupendous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stupendous. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stupendous,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stupendous.
Source: stupendous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.