Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective So great in scope, degree, or importance as to amaze.
  • adjective Extremely large in amount, extent, or size; enormous.
  • adjective Remarkable; outstanding.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Causing stupor or astonishment; astounding; amazing; specifically, astonishing from greatness in extent or degree; of wonderful magnitude; immense; prodigious: as, a stupendous work of nature or art; a stupendous blunder.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Astonishingly great or large; huge; enormous.
  • adjective Of stunning volume, degree, or excellence; marvelous.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Late Latin stupendus, stunning, gerundive of Latin stupēre, to be stunned.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested from 1547, from Late Latin stupendus ("stunning, amazing"), from Latin stupere ("to be stunned"). See also stupid.

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