Glorious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɡlɔː.ɹi.əs/

Definitions

1. Magnificent and splendid in appearance or achievement, evoking admiration and wonder
2. Impressive and grand in quality or appearance, inspiring awe and admiration through excellence or beauty
3. Remarkably beautiful or splendid, often associated with great achievements that provoke feelings of admiration

Etymology: "Glorious" arrived in English through a rather complicated path. Middle English borrowed it from Anglo-Norman "glorius" and Old French "glorïos", both descended from Latin "glōriōsus", which meant "boastful" or "vainglorious" as often as "illustrious." That older sense of showing off is still visible in the word's early history, when praise and vanity were close neighbours in meaning. English already had a word for the same idea. Old English "wuldorfull" meant "glorious," and it was built from "wuldor" (glory) plus the suffix "-full." Middle English speakers gradually let the French-derived form take its place, so the older native word was displaced and eventually disappeared from everyday use. The core structure is simple: "glory" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ous," which means "full of" that quality. So something glorious is, quite literally, full of glory.

Synonyms: magnificent, splendid, beautiful, radiant

Antonyms: dismal, shameful