monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive. monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness.
the monstrous waste of the project prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size).
made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe.
the tremendous roar of the cataract stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description.
a stupendous volcanic eruption
Examples of prodigious in a Sentence
Graceful afield and afoot in his youth, he bullied into a prodigious slugger in his final years.— Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 28 July 2003She had what was known in those days as a hollow leg, meaning she was able to drink prodigious amounts of liquor without getting drunk, or so she thought. — Vanity Fair, July 2000 … Isaac [Newton] was allowed to resume at Grantham and go on to Cambridge, where … he was to remain for nearly thirty-five secluded, prodigious years.— John Updike, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 1998
stage magicians performing prodigious feats for rapt audiences
a prodigious supply of canned food kept in the basement for emergencies
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prodigious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.