So unusually good or striking that it produces delighted surprise.
Reach for it when expressing strong informal admiration for a result, experience, or person
The student choir gave an amazing performance after rehearsing for only six weeks.
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday |
|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
playful
Fits when enthusiastic casual praise fits the audience
Careful It is too conversational for a restrained professional recommendation.
warm
Fits when pleasure and heartfelt approval matter more than surprise
Careful For technical achievement, wonderful may sound less specific.
professional
Fits when high quality or achievement should sound credible and measured
Careful It carries less delighted surprise than amazing.
professional
Fits when performance is exceptional by a large margin
Careful Routine success should not receive a superlative that leaves no room above it.
formal
Fits when the degree of surprise is unusually strong
Careful It can describe bad news too, so the positive judgment needs context.
formal
Fits when the result is far outside ordinary expectations
Careful Use a milder word if the achievement is excellent but not truly exceptional.
formal
Fits when the subject stands clearly apart and merits attention
Careful Something may be remarkable for unusualness without being enjoyable.
literary
Fits when beauty, scale, or drama creates a near-physical reaction
Careful A clever spreadsheet or dependable colleague is not literally this overwhelming.
amazing achievement
Restoring the full mosaic was an amazing achievement for the apprentice team.
truly amazing
The clarity she found in the damaged recording was truly amazing.
amazing person
He is an amazing person because his generosity survives inconvenient moments.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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