legendary
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.extremely famous and admired by many people.
adj.celebrated or described in well-known stories; having achieved a level of fame that makes the subject a household name.
Simple“The singer gave a legendary performance that people still talk about today.”
In context“The guitarist's legendary status was cemented after his performance at the festival, which many critics still consider the greatest in rock history.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.relating to or based on old stories called legends.
adj.of, relating to, or characteristic of a legend; existing in traditional stories rather than historical fact.
Simple“King Arthur is a legendary figure who may not have actually existed.”
In context“The historian attempted to separate the legendary elements of the king's life from the few verifiable facts found in contemporary records.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
adj.so good or so great that it is hard to believe.
adj.remarkable enough to be famous; very impressive.
Simple“The traffic in this city is legendary for being terrible.”
In context“The professor's legendary temper made students think twice before arriving late to his lectures.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
n.an old book containing stories about the lives of saints.
n.a collection of legends, specifically hagiographies or accounts of the lives of saints.
Simple“The monk spent years copying the legendary by hand.”
In context“Scholars examined the medieval legendary to understand how the local cult of the saint had evolved over several centuries.”
Synonymshagiography
“The last time the Catalan club achieved that feat was under legendary Catalan manager Pep Guardiola, who finished the run by making it a Champions League double in 2011.”
“This was already guaranteed to be a summer of huge upheaval at City with legendary boss Pep Guardiola leaving after 10 years in charge.”
From legend + -ary; from Medieval Latin legendārius. Earlier it was a noun meaning "a collection of legends" (1510s) (Medieval Latin legendārium, Old French legendier), from Latin legenda. In English, both the noun and the adjective first appeared in the 16th century.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.