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fabulous

[ fab-yuh-luhs ]
/ ˈféb yə ləs /
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See synonyms for: fabulous / fabulously on Thesaurus.com
adjective
Informal. exceptionally good or unusual; wonderful; superb: a fabulous bargain;a fabulous new house.
almost impossible to believe; incredible: Her fabulous story about surviving alone on a desert island for three months was riveting—and it was all true!
told about in fables; purely imaginary or known about only through myths or legends: the fabulous exploits of Hercules.
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Origin of fabulous

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin fābulƍsus, equivalent to fābul(a) “a story, tale” + -ƍsus adjective suffix; see fable, -ous

historical usage of fabulous

The core meanings of fabulous are perfect reflections of their Latin roots, which point directly to the word fable. Fables are creative tales or legends, often with magical creatures or great adventures. So when we talk about someone making up a fabulous excuse (which is “almost impossible to believe”) or we read about a fabulous winged horse (which is “purely imaginary”), we are staying pretty close to the Latin origin.
But in everyday usage, the most familiar sense of fabulous may be the informal one—“exceptionally good, wonderful”—which strays from the direct line to fable. Such remarks as “What a fabulous meal!” or “How’s that fabulous brother of yours?” are so common that it would not occur to us to stop and think, “Hey, did he just accuse me of preparing imaginary food?” or “Hmm, does she think my brother is a superhero, or that he’s just not very believable?”
Some might say that the only drawback to such familiarity with fabulous’s informal meaning is that we sometimes have to stop and think when it’s being used as originally intended. If I told you I just read a fabulous tale, could you be sure what I meant by that?

OTHER WORDS FROM fabulous

fab·u·lous·ly, adverbfab·u·lous·ness, nounun·fab·u·lous, adjectiveun·fab·u·lous·ly, adverb

Words nearby fabulous

Fabritius, Fabry, fabular, fabulate, fabulist, fabulous, fac., facade, facadism, face, face-ache
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to fabulous

astonishing, astounding, awesome, breathtaking, fantastic, incredible, marvelous, outrageous, phenomenal, remarkable, spectacular, superb, terrific, unbelievable, 10, aces, best, cool, doozie, extravagant

How to use fabulous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fabulous

fabulous
/ (ˈfĂŠbjʊləs) /
adjective
almost unbelievable; astounding; legendaryfabulous wealth
informal extremely gooda fabulous time at the party
of, relating to, or based upon fablea fabulous beast

Derived forms of fabulous

fabulously, adverbfabulousness, noun

Word Origin for fabulous

C15: from Latin fābulƍsus celebrated in fable, from fābula fable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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