different between mighty vs stupendous

English

Alternative forms

• mightie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English mighty, mightie, mighti, myghty, mi?ty, ma?ty, from Old English mihti?, mehti?, meahti?, mæhti? (“mighty”), from Proto-West Germanic *maht?g (“mighty”), from Proto-Germanic *maht?gaz (“mighty”), equivalent to might +? -y.

Cognate with Scots michty, mychty, Saterland Frisian machtich, Dutch machtig, German Low German machtig, German mächtig, Swedish mäktig.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ma?ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?ma?ti/, [?m???i]
• Rhymes: -a?ti

Noun

mighty (plural mighties)

1. (obsolete, rare) A warrior of great strength and courage.

Adjective

mighty (comparative mightier, superlative mightiest)

1. Very strong; possessing might.

   He's a mighty wrestler, but you are faster than him.

   • Wise in heart, and mighty in strength.

2. Very heavy and powerful.

   Thor swung his mighty hammer.

   He gave the ball a mighty hit.

3. (colloquial) Very large; hefty.
   • 1809, Washington Irving, A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker

     Having listened attentively to the statement of Wandle Schoonhoven, giving an occasionable grunt, as he shovelled a mighty spoonful of Indian pudding into his mouth […]

4. Accomplished by might; hence, extraordinary; wonderful.

   • His mighty works

   • Mighty was their fuss about little matters.

5. (informal) Excellent, extremely good.

   Tonight's a mighty opportunity to have a party.

   She's a mighty cook.

Derived terms

• high and mighty
• mightiness
• unmighty

Translations

Adverb

mighty (not comparable)

1. (colloquial, dialect) Very; to a high degree.

   • The lady is not heard of, and the King mighty angry and the Lord sent to the Tower.

   • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter IV

     I was mighty glad that our entrance into the interior of Caprona had been inside a submarine rather than in any other form of vessel. I could readily understand how it might have been that Caprona had been invaded in the past by venturesome navigators without word of it ever reaching the outside world, for I can assure you that only by submarine could man pass up that great sluggish river, alive.

Related terms

• might
• almighty

English

Etymology

First attested from 1547, from Late Latin stupendus (“stunning, amazing”), from Latin stupeo (“(I) am stunned”). Compare stupid. See Latin stupeo for more.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /stu?p?nd?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /stju?p?nd?s/
• Rhymes: -?nd?s

Adjective

stupendous (comparative more stupendous, superlative most stupendous)

1. Astonishingly great or large; huge; enormous.

   One cannot appreciate how stupendous the Matterhorn is without seeing it.

2. Of stunning excellence or degree; marvelous.

   The renovator created a stupendous new look for our house.

Synonyms

• colossal, enormous, huge, marvelous, prodigious, terrific, tremendous
• See also Thesaurus:gigantic

Derived terms

• stupendously
• stupendousness

Related terms

• stupid
• stupor

Translations

References

• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.