What does "prodigious" mean?
Extraordinarily amazing.
Prodigious
/pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Extraordinarily amazing.
- Grammar: prodigious is listed as adj, adv.
- Nearest alternatives: colossal, exceptional, abysmal, amazing.
- Useful contrasts: average, common, insignificant.
- Usage evidence: The number of English words exceeds twenty times Shakespeare's prodigious vocabulary.
How to use "prodigious"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "prodigious" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "prodigious" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "prodigious" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "prodigious" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "prodigious" is acting as adj, adv in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "colossal" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "prodigious", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Extraordinarily amazing.
"VVhat am I? Old! or a Monſter! Is it ſo prodigious, that a Man ſhou'd like me?"
- 2 Extraordinarily amazing.; In a positive sense: marvellous, wonderful; (specifically) extremely talented, especially at a young age.
"Iohn Ponce aforeſaid [i.e., Juan Ponce de León] hearing a rumour of a prodigious vvell, vvhich (as the Poets tell of Medea) vvould make olde men become young againe, plaid the yongling to goe ſearch it ſix monethes together, and in that inquirie diſcouers this Continent: […]"
- 3 Extraordinarily amazing.; In a negative sense: appalling, horrifying, shocking; (specifically, archaic) abnormal, freakish, monstrous, unnatural.
"[H]e [Thomas Arundell] by his euill counſaile and prodigious ſuggeſtions, craftilye circumuented the king, inducyng him to graunt his letters of pardon to a great traytour the Erle of Arondell his brother [Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel]."
- 4 Very big in extent, quantity, or size; abundant; intense; colossal, huge.
"[T]he figges […] are a fruit for a king, anſvverable to the mightie, huge, and prodigious tree that beareth it."
- 5 Having the nature of an omen or portent; ominous, portentous. archaic, obsolete
"[T]he blots of natures hand / Shall not in their iſſue ſtand. / Neuer mole, hare-lippe, nor ſcarre, / Nor marke prodigious, ſuch as are / Deſpiſed in natiuitie, / Shall vpon their children be."
Adjective
- 1 so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe wordnet
- 2 far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree wordnet
- 3 of momentous or ominous significance wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Synonym of prodigiously (“in a prodigious manner”). archaic
"I have fewer books than leisure to read them, and I have a prodigious big appetite."
Antonyms
Example
"The number of English words exceeds twenty times Shakespeare's prodigious vocabulary."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "prodigious"?
Common synonyms include: colossal, exceptional, abysmal, amazing, amplitudinous, anomalous.
How do you use "prodigious" in a sentence?
The number of English words exceeds twenty times Shakespeare's prodigious vocabulary.
How do you pronounce "prodigious"?
Pronounced /pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁ǵyéti Proto-Italic *agjō Latin aiō Proto-Indo-European *-yós Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin prōdigium Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-der. Proto-Indo-European *-h₃d-s-o-? Latin -ōsus Latin prōdigiōsusbor. Middle English prodigious English prodigious The adjective is derived from Late Middle English prodigious (“warning of disaster, portentous”), from Latin prōdigiōsus (“strange, unnatural; marvellous, wonderful, prodigious”), from prōdigium (“prophetic sign, omen, portent; prodigy, wonder”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of’ forming adjectives from nouns). Prōdigium is derived from prō- (prefix denoting a forward direction, something before or prior, or prominence) + aiō (“to say, speak”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- (“to say”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The English word is analysable as prodigy + -ous. The adverb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Catalan prodigiós * Middle French prodigieux (“portentous”) (modern French prodigieux) * Italian prodigioso * Portuguese prodigioso * Spanish prodigioso