phenomenal
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
extremely successful, large, or impressive.
highly extraordinary or remarkable; often used to describe exceptional performance or scale.
Simple“The young pianist gave a phenomenal performance that left the audience in tears.”
In context“The company has seen phenomenal growth over the last fiscal year, outperforming even the most optimistic market projections.”
Usageoften used as an intensifier for success or talent.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
relating to things that you can see, hear, or feel directly.
perceptible by the senses through immediate experience; relating to the appearance of things rather than their independent reality.
Simple“Scientists study phenomenal data to understand how the brain processes light.”
In context“The study focused on the phenomenal aspects of consciousness, specifically how individuals report their subjective experience of colour.”
Usagefrequently appears in scientific or psychological contexts regarding observation.
SynonymsAntonymsnoumenaltheoretical - 03 C2 Proficiency
relating to how the world appears to us, rather than how it actually is.
pertaining to the appearance of the world as opposed to the ultimate nature of reality as it exists in itself.
Simple“In philosophy class, we discussed the difference between the phenomenal world and reality.”
In context“Kant argued that we can only ever know the phenomenal world, as the 'thing-in-itself' remains forever inaccessible to human reason.”
Usagespecifically used in Kantian philosophy to distinguish from the 'noumenal' world.
“It’s a phenomenal achievement – I don’t know how she did it.”
From phenomenon + -al, after French phénoménal.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.