What does tremendous mean?
Tremendous is an adjective meaning exceptionally large, powerful, impressive, or successful. It is especially common when describing amounts, effects, achievements, and performances: a tremendous success, tremendous pressure, or a tremendous impact. Its strong positive force often conveys admiration or awe, although it can also emphasize an extreme amount of something negative. In conversational English, tremendous functions as an emphatic intensifier, much like “extremely” or “very.” The word can be formal or informal depending on the surrounding language, but precise alternatives are preferable in technical or official writing. Today, its dominant meaning concerns extraordinary scale or quality, while an older sense connected with trembling survives only archaically.
adjectiveExtremely large, impressive, or powerful in amount or degree; exceptionally successful or enjoyable.
- Extremely large in amount or degree.
- Exceptionally impressive, successful, powerful, or good.
- Archaic: causing or involving trembling.
"The research team made a tremendous contribution to the field of medicine."
"The storm caused tremendous damage to the coastal town."
"She gave a tremendous performance that left the audience applauding for several minutes."
Tremendous originally carried the idea of trembling, but today it is more likely to suggest something awe-inspiring in scale or quality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tremendous come from?
Tremendous comes from Latin tremere, meaning “to tremble,” combined with the suffix -ous. The English word has an older history involving a sense connected with causing or being subject to trembling. Its modern sense of being extremely great in size, degree, or importance developed as the adjective came to express something that might be considered overwhelming or remarkable.
Related word forms
How tremendous is actually used
Tremendous is common in everyday speech and informal writing as an emphatic word. In formal contexts, a more precise term may be preferable, especially when describing a large quantity or degree.
Easily confused with tremendous
Tremendous means extremely large or impressive, whereas tremulous means trembling or unsteady.