stupendous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /stuˈpɛndəs/ UK /stjuːˈpɛndəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
extremely impressive or astonishing in size or degree

The fireworks display was a stupendous spectacle of light.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely impressive or... amazing astonishing prodigious tremendous colossalstupefyingphenomenal

Opposites

unimpressive ordinary trivial insignificant

Word family

Derived forms stupendouslystupendousness

Related forms stupefy stupor stupid

Etymology

From Latin stupendus ('to be wondered at'), gerundive of stupēre ('to be stunned, amazed'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ('to push, stick, knock').

stupendus Latin stupēre Latin *(s)tewp- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# stupendous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** stuˈpɛndəs
**IPA (UK):** stjuːˈpɛndəs

## Meanings
1. extremely impressive or astonishing in size or degree

## Examples
- The fireworks display was a stupendous spectacle of light.

## Synonyms
- amazing
- astonishing
- prodigious
- tremendous
- colossal
- stupefying
- phenomenal

## Antonyms
- unimpressive
- ordinary
- trivial
- insignificant

## Derived Forms
- stupendously
- stupendousness

## Related Forms
- stupefy
- stupor
- stupid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stupendus
- Root: stupēre
- Root: *(s)tewp-

## Etymology
From Latin stupendus ('to be wondered at'), gerundive of stupēre ('to be stunned, amazed'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ('to push, stick, knock').

## AI Etymology
Stupendous comes from Latin stupendus ('to be wondered at'), gerundive of stupēre ('to be stunned, amazed'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ('to push, stick, knock'). The historical chain includes Latin stupendus, Latin stupēre, and Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-. The quoted older senses, "to be wondered at", "to be stunned, amazed", and "to push, stick, knock", supply the semantic anchors for stupendous. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word stupendous carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "extremely impressive or astonishing in size or degree". English derivatives include stupendously and stupendousness; related English forms include stupefy, stupor, and stupid. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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