Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Remarkably or impressively great in degree, size, or extent: Describing something that is extraordinary, enormous, or immense, often to a degree that evokes wonder or astonishment.
   • Extraordinary in a way that suggests a marvel or monster: Having a quality of being portentous, ominous, or momentous in significance.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The young composer displayed prodigious talent from a very early age.
  • Cleaning the entire house was a prodigious task that took all weekend.
  • The storm brought prodigious amounts of rain, causing widespread flooding.
  • He has a prodigious memory for names and dates.

Advanced Usage

• "of prodigious size/strength/talent": Used to specify the extraordinary nature of a particular attribute.
  • The athlete was known for his prodigious strength.
• "a prodigious feat/achievement": Describing an accomplishment that is remarkably great.
  • Building the bridge in one year was a prodigious feat of engineering.

Variants and Related Words

• Prodigiously (adverb): In an extraordinarily great or impressive manner.
  • She is prodigiously gifted in mathematics.
• Prodigiousness (noun): The quality of being prodigious.
  • The prodigiousness of his appetite was legendary.

Synonyms

• Colossal: Extremely large.
• Stupendous: Extremely impressive.
• Exceptional: Unusually good; outstanding.
• Enormous: Very large in size, quantity, or degree.
• Monumental: Great in importance, extent, or size.

Antonyms

• Ordinary: With no special or distinctive features; normal.
• Insignificant: Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
• Tiny: Very small.
• Unremarkable: Not particularly interesting or surprising.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "A prodigious amount/number of": An idiom-like construction emphasizing a very large quantity.
  • She read a prodigious number of books over the summer.
• "Prodigious in scope": Describing something vast in its range or extent.
  • The research project was prodigious in scope.

Adjective

1. far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
   • a night of exceeding darkness
   • an exceptional memory
   • olympian efforts to save the city from bankruptcy
   • the young Mozart's prodigious talents
2. of momentous or ominous significance
   • such a portentous...monster raised all my curiosity- Herman Melville
   • a prodigious vision
3. so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
   • colossal crumbling ruins of an ancient temple
   • has a colossal nerve
   • a prodigious storm
   • a stupendous field of grass
   • stupendous demand