awesome

adjective

awe·some ˈȯ-səm

Synonyms of awesome next

: inspiring awe

an awesome task/responsibility

a place of awesome beauty

informal : terrific, extraordinary

had an awesome time at the concert

: expressive of awe

awesome tribute

Did you know?

Is the word awesome overused?

Many object to the use of awesome to describe something (such as a sandwich) that does not literally elicit feelings of awe. Yet the same people who insist that awesome should be used only of weighty subjects (Niagara Falls, man landing on the moon) will happily use the word awful in reference to something (such as a mess) that falls distinctly short of being “full of awe.” This weakened sense was once considered improper—in fact, complaints about it persisted through the early decades of the 20th century.

The change in meaning that awesome is undergoing may be more recent than that of awful, but both words are treading the same path. For evidence that such change is normal, we need look no further than awe, which originally meant “terror” and now carries the weaker sense “wonder.”

Examples of awesome in a Sentence

the awesome sight of an erupting volcano It was an awesome responsibility. We had an awesome task ahead of us. We had an awesome time at the concert. You did an awesome job on that project. The movie was totally awesome.

Recent Examples on the Web Shared Collections How to Play Baseball in the 1920s Swing for the bleachers with these awesome lantern slides from the early years of professional baseball. —

JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024 Young was certainly feeling awesome by noon, marching down the TPC River Highlands with Jim Furyk’s record in sight, something very few golfers ever see. —

Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2024 But having those characteristics, being surrounded by so many Cancers is awesome. —

Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 21 June 2024 Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. —

IEEE Spectrum, 14 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for awesome

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'awesome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.