Sensational
adj.joyful, energeticplayful
What it means
Exceptionally impressive or enjoyable in a way that creates excitement.
Reach for it when giving emphatic informal praise to a performance, result, or experience
The understudy delivered a sensational performance on opening night.
Choose between these
7- playful
when energetic everyday enthusiasm fits
not when Fantastic is broad and can become empty intensification.
- playful
when extraordinary achievement merits strong amazement
not when Phenomenal is inflated unless the result is genuinely unusual.
- everyday
when visual scale or dramatic display drives the praise
not when Spectacular may reward show over underlying quality.
- warm
when beauty or impact produces an immediate reaction
not when Stunning centers surprise and may apply to disturbing news.
- warm
when the experience creates sustained excitement
not when A precise technical result can be sensational without feeling thrilling.
- professional
when high quality should sound credible and measured
not when First-rate lacks the exuberance that makes sensational apt.
- professional
when excellence clearly exceeds a known standard
not when Outstanding measures quality with cooler language and no promise of excitement.
Said against
3- awful
- mediocre
- underwhelming
It naturally appears in
3- sensational performance
Her sensational performance brought the audience to its feet.
- sensational success
The repair program became a sensational success after the trial year.
- look sensational
The restored velvet curtains look sensational beneath the new lights.
Where this comes from
Sensational also describes material designed to shock rather than inform. The positive sense needs an unmistakably praising context.
- wiktionary, English adjective, exceptionally good or impressive sense opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.