Nearby Words

tremendous

[trih-men-duhs] Origin

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.

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Tremendous is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
tremendous (trɪˈmɛndəs)
 
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
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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
EXPAND
changes in terrific, terribly, awfully, etc.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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