: causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise
an amazing story of personal bravery and survival
Did you know?
One common complaint regarding the adjectival use of amazing is the extent to which the word is used in what some feel is a watered-down fashion. Those who take this position argue that unless someone is literally being amazed, the word is ill-chosen.
While this defense of semantic integrity is understandable, we must point out that the broadened meaning of amazing is hardly an isolated case. In fact, a number of words that are semantically similar to amazing have also come unmoored from their original meanings. Fabulous once meant “characteristic of fables,» and the earliest known sense of terrific was “exciting fear or awe.” Although the weakened meanings of such words have elicited complaints, most of them have eventually become accepted into the language over the course of time.
That being said, the use of amazing to indicate that something is slightly better than “pleasant” may provoke skepticism in others, so you are advised to know your audience before using it in this way.
Synonyms
Example Sentences
He showed an amazing lack of concern for others.
The amazing thing is that no one knows where it came from.
He has an amazing ability to learn new languages.
Her grandmother was really an amazing woman.
Recent Examples on the Web
That would be amazing for morale.
—
Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 29 Mar. 2023
Watching Johnny do the hours was amazing.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2023
As the train approaches the San Diego area, the ocean views from inside the train are amazing.
—David Schechter, Haley Rush, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2023
That would be amazing given that Townsend is a former gymnast who used to enjoy competing on the bars, vault and floor exercise.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 28 Mar. 2023
Whereas Great Van Fleet are amazing at playing lemon-squeezing, Zep-style rock, Joy Division dopplegang the hell out of influential post-punk band Joy Division.
—Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 28 Mar. 2023
The sunrise from our bedroom window is amazing.
—Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Mar. 2023
The process is fun, the price point is great, and the sleep is amazing.
—John Thompson, Men’s Health, 27 Mar. 2023
What was amazing, what was meh.
—Marianne Willburn, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘amazing.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
from present participle of amaze entry 1
First Known Use
1593, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of amazing was
in 1593
Dictionary Entries Near amazing
Cite this Entry
“Amazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amazing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on amazing
Last Updated:
31 Mar 2023
— Updated example sentences
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
Use the adjective amazing to describe something that is so good, it surprises you, like the amazing beauty of the Rocky Mountains or the amazing feats of a truly great athlete.
Amazing, like incredible, awesome, and fabulous, is used so often to describe things that are just really good, you sometimes forget that its real meaning is reserved for things that are especially remarkable. The base word in amazing is amaze, which means «to astound or perplex.» So amazing should be reserved for things that do just that.
Definitions of amazing
-
adjective
inspiring awe or admiration or wonder
“New York is an
amazing city”-
synonyms:
awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, awing
-
impressive
making a strong or vivid impression
-
impressive
-
adjective
surprising greatly
“she does an
amazing amount of work”-
synonyms:
astonishing
-
surprising
causing surprise or wonder or amazement
-
surprising
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘amazing’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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- amazing
- [ə’meɪzɪŋ]
прил.
изумительный, ошеломительный, ошеломляющий, поразительный, удивительный
It was amazing to watch them perform. — Было забавно наблюдать, как они выступают.
It was amazing that she was able to solve the problem so quickly. — Поразительно, что она так быстро смогла решить задачу.
Syn:
Англо-русский современный словарь.
2014.
Смотреть что такое «amazing» в других словарях:
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Amazing — or Amazin may refer to: * Amazing (Aerosmith song) * Amazing (High and Mighty Color song) * Amazing (George Michael song) * Amazing (Madonna song) * Amazing (Westlife song) * Amazing (Alex Lloyd song) * Amazing (Seal song) *A*mazing, an… … Wikipedia
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Amazing — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Amazing puede referirse a: «Amazing», una canción de Madonna. «Amazing», una canción de George Michael. «Amazing», una canción de Aerosmith. Obtenido de Amazing Categoría: Wikipedia:Desambiguación … Wikipedia Español
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Amazing — Studioalbum von Banaroo Veröffentlichung 24. März 2006 Aufnahme 2006 Label … Deutsch Wikipedia
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Amazing — A*maz ing, a. Causing amazement; very wonderful; as, amazing grace. {A*maz ing*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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amazing — index extraordinary, ineffable, noteworthy, portentous (eliciting amazement), remarkable, special, unaccustomed, unusual … Law dictionary
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amazing — (adj.) early 15c., stupefactive; 1590s, dreadful; prp. adjective from AMAZE (Cf. amaze). Sense of wonderful is recorded from 1704. Related: Amazingly … Etymology dictionary
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amazing — [adj] astonishing awesome, fascinating, incredible, marvelous, prodigious, shocking, stunning, surprising, unbelievable, wonderful; concepts 547,572 … New thesaurus
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amazing — ► ADJECTIVE 1) causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing. 2) informal very good or impressive. DERIVATIVES amazingly adverb … English terms dictionary
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amazing — adj. 1) amazing to + inf. (it was amazing to watch them perform) 2) amazing that + clause (it was amazing that she was able to solve the problem so quickly) * * * [ə meɪzɪŋ] amazing that + clause (it was amazing that she was able to solve the… … Combinatory dictionary
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amazing — adj. VERBS ▪ be, look, sound, taste ▪ find sb/sth ADVERB ▪ absolutely, pretty, rathe … Collocations dictionary
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amazing — a|maz|ing [ ə meızıŋ ] adjective ** 1. ) very surprising: She told me an amazing story. It s amazing how stupid people can be. a ) used about something surprising that is also very impressive: Their last CD sold an amazing 2 million copies. I… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
- Top Definitions
- Quiz
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- Examples
- British
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
[ uh—mey-zing ]
/ əˈmeɪ zɪŋ /
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
adjective
causing great surprise or sudden wonder: He wowed the audience with amazing feats of magical illusion.
excellent; wonderful: In addition to amazing tour leaders, many of our programs are accompanied by university faculty who are experts on the destination.
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Origin of amazing
First recorded in 1520–30; amaze + -ing2
OTHER WORDS FROM amazing
a·maz·ing·ly, adverb
Words nearby amazing
amaze, amazeballs, amazed, amazement, Amaziah, amazing, “Amazing Grace”, Amazon, Amazon ant, Amazonas, Amazon cherry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to amazing
How to use amazing in a sentence
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You were so everything and then you’re still doing it and so amazing.
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So, I think we need to be getting through this, but also thinking about, what do we do when we’re through all of this to make sure that we’re sharing the benefits of this amazing economy much more broadly, much more fairly.
-
This was our first-ever all-virtual conference, and it demonstrated the amazing possibilities of the format.
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I wish I could say we had a pandemic playbook on the shelf, but what we do have is an amazing seasoned team that we’ve spiked with new talent.
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A useful feature, among other things, is that you can sort your keywords by their length — this helps you better target those amazing long-tail keywords, which usually bring your videos a lot of clicks.
-
What an amazing thing to be able to listen to any music you want, a whole world of bands.
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It got it all out there… Gene Hackman and Douglas… Melvyn Douglas is amazing.
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Amazing how people can still haul this one out with a straight face.
-
You had some pretty amazing special guests, from members of the Replacements to Stevie Nicks.
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On the show, it led to this half-comical, half-horrifying, but 100 percent amazing moment.
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There chanced to be a forked tree close at hand, to which the major rushed and scrambled up with amazing rapidity.
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But the novel disappeared under the clothes with amazing celerity as the voice of her sister-in-law demanded admission.
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Herbert brings amazing fine detail about the night and day battle on the high ridges.
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No ill use has been made of these privileges; but the domain and wealth of Great Britain have received amazing addition.
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The position tried him sorely, testing his new strength from such amazing and unexpected angles.
British Dictionary definitions for amazing
adjective
causing wonder or astonishmentamazing feats
Derived forms of amazing
amazingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
amazing: translation
adj.
VERBS
▪ be, look, sound, taste
▪ find sb/sth
ADVERB
▪ absolutely, pretty, rather (esp. AmE), really, simply, truly, utterly
▪
a truly amazing achievement
▪ just, quite
▪
He remembered our names from ten years ago— isn’t that just amazing?
▪ most
▪
I saw the most amazing movie yesterday!
PHRASES
▪ be nothing short of amazing (esp.AmE)
▪
The results of the treatment were nothing short of amazing.
Amazing is used with these nouns: ↑accomplishment, ↑accuracy, ↑achievement, ↑agility, ↑array, ↑bargain, ↑capacity, ↑coincidence, ↑collection, ↑combination, ↑comeback, ↑discovery, ↑facility, ↑feat, ↑feeling, ↑gift, ↑job, ↑journey, ↑knack, ↑luck, ↑phenomenon, ↑piece, ↑rapidity, ↑recovery, ↑regularity, ↑resilience, ↑result, ↑revelation, ↑sight, ↑sound, ↑speed, ↑story, ↑success, ↑tale, ↑talent, ↑thing, ↑transformation, ↑variety