tre·men·dous

[trih-men-duhs]
adjective
1.
extraordinarily great in size, amount, or intensity: a tremendous ocean liner; tremendous talent.
2.
extraordinary in excellence: a tremendous movie.
3.
dreadful or awful, as in character or effect; exciting fear; frightening; terrifying.

Origin:
1625–35; < Latin tremendus dreadful, to be shaken by, equivalent to trem(ere) to shake, quake + -endus gerund suffix

tre·men·dous·ly, adverb
tre·men·dous·ness, noun
un·tre·men·dous, adjective
un·tre·men·dous·ly, adverb
un·tre·men·dous·ness, noun


1. See huge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To tremendous
00:10
Tremendous is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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World English Dictionary
tremendous (trɪˈmɛndəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  vast; huge
2.  informal very exciting or unusual
3.  informal (intensifier): a tremendous help
4.  archaic terrible or dreadful
 
[C17: from Latin tremendus terrible, literally: that is to be trembled at, from tremere to quake]
 
tre'mendously
 
adv
 
tre'mendousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tremendous
1632, "awful, dreadful, terrible," from L. tremendus "fearful, terrible," lit. "to be trembled at," gerundive form of tremere "to tremble" (see tremble). Hyperbolic or intensive sense of "extraordinarily great or good, immense" is attested from 1812, paralleling semantic
changes in terrific, terribly, awfully, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It was indeed a tremendous display of the power and might of fast-running,
  uncontrollable water.
Tremendous spiritual values were evidently at stake.
Human interaction with mosquitoes must take into account the tremendous human
  suffering that these disease vectors cause.
Such broad vision holds tremendous appeal for the makers--and users--of
  artificial lenses.
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