Standard Lemma guide

spectacular

adj · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /spɛkˈtæk.jʊ.lə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /spɛkˈtæk.jə.lɚ/
  • rhymes with -ækjʊlə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: S P EH0 K T AE1 K Y AH0 L ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Amazing or worthy of special notice.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The parachutists were spectacular.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Related to, or having the character of, a spectacle or entertainment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

Examples

  • the merely spectacular

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Relating to spectacles, or glasses for the eyes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A spectacular display.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A pop-up (folded paper element) in material sent by postal mail.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: advertising, business, marketing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom
  • a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book
  • salient traits
  • a spectacular rise in prices
  • a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center
  • a striking resemblance between parent and child

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outstanding, prominent, salient, striking

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

characteristic of spectacles or drama

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • spectacular dives from the cliff

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a dramatic sunset
  • a dramatic pause
  • a spectacular display of northern lights
  • it was a spectacular play
  • his striking good looks always created a sensation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dramatic, striking

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

a lavishly produced performance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they put on a Christmas spectacular

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: performance, public presentation

History

Etymology

From Latin spectaculum (“a sight, show”) + -ar.

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bengali: অলৌকিক (olōukik) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Bulgarian: зрелищен (zrelišten) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Catalan: espectacular — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Chinese Cantonese: 引人入勝的 /引人入胜的 (jan5 jan4 jap6 sing3) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 引人入勝的 /引人入胜的 (yǐnrénrùshèng de) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 壯觀 /壮观 (zhuàngguān) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 引人注意的 (yǐnrénzhùyì de) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Dutch: spectaculair — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Finnish: loistava — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Finnish: loistelias — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Finnish: mahtava — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • French: spectaculaire — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Galician: espectacular — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • German: spektakulär — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Greek: θεαματικός (theamatikós) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Hungarian: látványos — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Japanese: 華華しい (hanabanashii) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Japanese: 壮大な (sōdai na) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Japanese: 壮観な (sōkan na) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Kazakh: сәулетті (säulettı) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Kazakh: салтанатты (saltanatty) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Kazakh: тамаша (tamaşa) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Korean: 눈부신 (nunbusin) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Manx: ard-hilleydagh — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Norwegian Bokmål: spektakulær — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: spektakulær — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Portuguese: espetacular — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Romanian: spectaculos — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Romanian: spectacular — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Romanian: de spectacol — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Russian: эффе́ктный (efféktnyj) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Russian: импоза́нтный (impozántnyj) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Russian: я́ркий (járkij) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Russian: увлека́тельный (uvlekátelʹnyj) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Russian: захва́тывающий (zaxvátyvajuščij) — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Spanish: espectacular — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Swedish: spektakulär — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Turkish: muhteşem — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Vietnamese: ngoạn mục — amazing or worthy of special attention
  • Finnish: näyttävä — related to, or having the character of, a spectacle or entertainment
  • Finnish: viihdyttävä — related to, or having the character of, a spectacle or entertainment
  • Russian: зре́лищный (zréliščnyj) — related to, or having the character of, a spectacle or entertainment
Real reading context

spectacular in complete knowledge articles