Words / C2

pr-uh-DIJ-uh-s/prəˈdɪdʒəs/

Prodigious means remarkably great in amount, scale, or ability: a prodigious memory, prodigious output. Huge is everyday; enormous is close; phenomenal is a looser spoken cousin. It is literary or journalistic praise (or awe). In speech, extraordinary or huge will do. A prodigy is a related noun for a startlingly gifted person, especially a child — not a required pair.

Meaning

Very large or impressive in amount, skill, or degree (formal).

Examples

• “She made a prodigious effort to finish on time.”
• “She made a prodigious effort to re-mark the scripts in a week.”
• “The archive holds a prodigious number of uncatalogued letters.”

Good to know

Remarkably great. Formal/literary. Everyday: huge / extraordinary. Related: a prodigy (gifted person).

Near in meaning

enormous

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