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Is the word awesome overused?
Many object to the use of awesome to describe something (such as a sandwich) that does not literally elicit feelings of awe. Yet the same people who insist that awesome should be used only of weighty subjects (Niagara Falls, man landing on the moon) will happily use the word awful in reference to something (such as a mess) that falls distinctly short of being “full of awe.” This weakened sense was once considered improper—in fact, complaints about it persisted through the early decades of the 20th century.
The change in meaning that awesome is undergoing may be more recent than that of awful, but both words are treading the same path. For evidence that such change is normal, we need look no further than awe, which originally meant “terror” and now carries the weaker sense “wonder.”
Synonyms
Examples of awesome in a Sentence
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
The Webb telescope trained its awesome eye on it for 14 hours total, spread across three months.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Its curved and rounded edges just feel awesome in my hands.
—Scott Kramer, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Amazon's annual Holiday Beauty Haul is a great event to find awesome stocking stuffers at a discount.
—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for awesome 
Dictionary Entries Near awesome
Cite this Entry
“Awesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awesome. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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awesome
adjective
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