adjective
prodigious
pruh-DIJ-uhs/prəˈdɪdʒəs/
Exceptionally great in size, amount, or strength.
The prodigious pumpkin dwarfs both the crouching gardener and the ordinary pumpkin beside it.
Etymology
A prodigium was an omen or extraordinary sign. The adjective moved from “portentous” to “causing wonder,” then to describing something whose remarkable size or impressiveness inspires amazement.
In context
they had strong extended claws before and behind terminating in sharp points and hooked they would often spring and bound and leap with prodigious agility
More examples
- Moving these boulders requires prodigious strength.
- The teenager has a prodigious appetite.
- A tree of prodigious size towers over the house.
Forms
prodigious
prodigiously adverb — To an exceptionally great degree.
Similar words
- enormous
- Emphasizes sheer size or amount rather than remarkable capacity.
- tremendous
- Often emphasizes force or intensity rather than physical size.
- immense
- Emphasizes vast scale or extent, often suggesting something boundless.