What does breathtakingly mean?
'Breathtakingly' is an adverb formed from the adjective 'breathtaking,' which itself evokes the physical sensation of being so astonished that one momentarily loses one's breath. It has two closely related uses. First, it describes things of overwhelming beauty, grandeur, or skill — a landscape may be breathtakingly scenic, a performance breathtakingly graceful. Second, it functions as a general intensifier meaning 'to an extreme degree,' attaching to adjectives where no literal awe is implied: prices can be breathtakingly high, and behavior can be breathtakingly arrogant. In this second use the word often signals audacity or excess rather than admiration. Standard in both British and American English, it suits registers ranging from journalism to casual conversation. Its flexibility and emotional force make it a favorite of travel writers, reviewers, and commentators who need to convey intensity with a single well-placed modifier.
adverbIn a way that is astonishingly beautiful, impressive, or overwhelming; used as an intensifier meaning 'extremely' before adjectives and adverbs.
- Used to describe something so beautiful, impressive, or astonishing that it seems to take one's breath away.
- Used as an intensive adverb meaning 'extremely' or 'to an extraordinary degree' (e.g., breathtakingly expensive).
"The view from the summit was breathtakingly beautiful."
"The northern lights were breathtakingly vivid against the Arctic sky."
"The solution was breathtakingly simple once someone finally saw it."
When you're stunned into silence by beauty, you literally stop breathing — and English coined a word for it: breathtaking. Add '-ly' and you can make almost anything sound spectacular.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of breathtakingly
The word derives from 'breathtaking,' a compound of the verb 'breathe' and the verb 'take,' first used figuratively in the 18th century to describe anything so striking it seemed to stop the breath. The adverbial suffix '-ly,' a native English ending tracing back to Old English '-līce,' converted the adjective into an adverb. Its root elements are Germanic in origin, sharing ancestry with words like 'breathless' and 'breathing' rather than with Latin- or Greek-derived vocabulary.
Related word forms
How breathtakingly is actually used
'Breathtakingly' carries strongly positive connotations when applied to beauty, scenery, or skill (breathtakingly beautiful), but when paired with negative adjectives such as 'arrogant,' 'cynical,' or 'reckless,' it shifts to convey audacity or shocking excess rather than admiration. It is standard in both formal writing and everyday speech.
Easily confused with breathtakingly
'Breathtaking' is the adjective describing something astonishing (a breathtaking view), while 'breathtakingly' is the adverb form that modifies adjectives or verbs (breathtakingly beautiful).
'Heartbreakingly' intensifies in a sad or distressing direction (heartbreakingly sad), whereas 'breathtakingly' intensifies toward awe, wonder, or extremity without inherent sadness.