On this page12 sections
- Quick list by meaning
- When amazing means surprising
- When amazing means very good
- When amazing means rare skill or achievement
- When amazing means beautiful
- When amazing means almost magical
- Casual and slang alternatives
- Saying a person is amazing
- How strong is each word?
- Mistakes to avoid
- Practice
- Quick answers
The most useful synonyms for amazing are incredible, astonishing, remarkable, extraordinary, stunning, wonderful and fantastic. Which one fits depends on what you mean by “amazing”: that something surprised you, that it was very good, that someone showed rare skill, or that a view took your breath away.
“Amazing” is one of the most overused words in English, so a precise replacement usually makes a sentence stronger. The lists below are grouped by meaning, with an example for each and a note on tone. For figurative ways to say the same thing (“out of this world”, “a knockout”), see idioms that mean amazing and metaphors for amazing.
Quick list by meaning
| If “amazing” means… | Try |
|---|---|
| surprising, hard to believe | astonishing, astounding, staggering, unbelievable, incredible |
| very good | wonderful, fantastic, terrific, superb, excellent, brilliant (UK) |
| unusually skilled or rare | remarkable, extraordinary, exceptional, phenomenal, outstanding |
| beautiful to look at | stunning, breathtaking, spectacular, magnificent, glorious |
| almost magical | marvellous (US marvelous), wondrous, miraculous, awe-inspiring |
| casual praise | awesome, epic, unreal, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping |
| formal or professional | outstanding, exceptional, impressive, exemplary |
When amazing means surprising
This is the oldest sense. Amaze once meant to stun or bewilder someone, and the strongest synonyms keep that sense of shock.
- Astonishing – surprising in a way that makes you stop. It’s astonishing how fast the puppy learned to open the door.
- Astounding – a notch stronger than astonishing; good for numbers and achievements. The fundraiser collected an astounding amount in one weekend.
- Staggering – so large or shocking it knocks you off balance. Often used for figures: a staggering bill.
- Unbelievable – hard to believe; it can be good or bad. The queue at the airport was unbelievable.
- Incredible – literally “not credible”, but now mostly a general word of praise. She ran an incredible race.
- Startling – sudden and a little alarming. The results were startling: half the samples had failed.
When amazing means very good
- Wonderful – warm, sincere, good for people and experiences. Thank you for a wonderful evening.
- Fantastic – energetic and friendly. You did a fantastic job on the poster.
- Terrific – cheerful and slightly old-fashioned. It once meant “terrifying”, which is why older texts can surprise you.
- Superb – excellent in quality, often of food, performance or craft. The fish was superb.
- Excellent – very good, and calm rather than excited; safe in any register.
- Brilliant – in British English an everyday word for “great” (That’s brilliant, thanks!). In American English it more often means very clever.
- Great – the plainest choice; fine in speech, weak in writing that needs detail.
When amazing means rare skill or achievement
- Remarkable – worth noticing and talking about. He made a remarkable recovery after the surgery.
- Extraordinary – far beyond ordinary; serious in tone. She showed extraordinary courage during the flood.
- Exceptional – an exception to the normal standard; a favourite in references and reviews. Priya is an exceptional analyst.
- Phenomenal – extremely good or successful; common in sport and business. The new album has had phenomenal sales.
- Outstanding – stands out from the rest; works in school reports and appraisals.
- Impressive – it earns respect. Milder than the others, and often the most believable.
When amazing means beautiful
- Stunning – so beautiful it stops you. The bride looked stunning.
- Breathtaking – for views, landscapes and moments. The view from the ridge was breathtaking.
- Spectacular – big, bright and dramatic; fireworks, sunsets, stage shows.
- Magnificent – grand and impressive; buildings, animals, performances.
- Glorious – full of light or joy. We had a glorious week of sunshine.
- Gorgeous – very attractive, and more casual than stunning.
When amazing means almost magical
- Marvellous (UK) / marvelous (US) – delightful and a little old-fashioned; it can sound playful or posh.
- Wondrous – literary, full of wonder. a wondrous world under the sea
- Miraculous – so unlikely it seems like a miracle. a miraculous escape
- Awe-inspiring – it fills you with awe; mountains, cathedrals, night skies.
- Magical – charming and enchanting; holidays, first snow, childhood memories.
Casual and slang alternatives
These suit texts, social posts and talk with friends, not a cover letter.
- Awesome – the standard casual word in American English. It first meant “inspiring awe”.
- Epic – huge and memorable. That was an epic road trip.
- Mind-blowing / jaw-dropping – so surprising you can hardly take it in.
- Unreal – so good it doesn’t seem real.
- Insane / sick – slang praise among younger speakers. Both can sound wrong, even offensive, to some readers, so know your audience.
- Wicked – “very” or “great” in parts of Britain and in New England. That was wicked good.
For playful options, there is a separate list of funny ways to say awesome.
Saying a person is amazing
“You’re amazing” is kind but vague. Say what you admire and pick the word that matches it:
- for kindness: You’ve been wonderful through all of this.
- for talent: You’re an extraordinary musician.
- for strength: What you did for your mum was remarkable.
- for work: Your report was exceptional; the board read every page. More options in other ways to say great job.
How strong is each word?
From mild to strongest, roughly: good → impressive → excellent → wonderful / fantastic → remarkable → extraordinary / incredible → astonishing → astounding / staggering. Use the strong end sparingly. If everything is “incredible”, nothing is.
Mistakes to avoid
- “Very amazing”, “very incredible”. These words already mean “very”, so very adds nothing. Use absolutely or truly if you need emphasis: absolutely incredible. (The same goes for very fantastic and very astonishing.)
- Amazed vs amazing. The person feels amazed; the thing is amazing. I was amazed by the show, not I was amazing by the show.
- Incredible vs incredulous. Incredible describes the thing that is hard to believe; incredulous describes the person who doesn’t believe it. She gave me an incredulous look.
- Awful and terrific have changed. Awful now means very bad and terrific means very good, whatever their roots. Do not use awful to mean awe-inspiring in modern writing.
- Stacking synonyms. “An amazing, incredible, fantastic experience” sounds less sincere than one well-chosen word.
Practice
Replace amazing with the best word from the list: breathtaking, exceptional, astonishing, wonderful, staggering.
- The repair cost an amazing £4,000.
- From the top of the tower, the view over the bay was amazing.
- In her reference letter: “Anna is an amazing project manager.”
- Thanks for an amazing birthday dinner, Gran.
- It’s amazing that nobody noticed the missing painting for a month.
Answers: 1 staggering (a shocking figure); 2 breathtaking (a view); 3 exceptional (formal praise of skill); 4 wonderful (warm thanks); 5 astonishing (surprise).
Quick answers
What is a better word for amazing?
It depends on the meaning: astonishing for surprise, wonderful or fantastic for very good, remarkable or extraordinary for rare skill, stunning or breathtaking for beauty.
What is a formal word for amazing?
Outstanding, exceptional, remarkable and impressive all work in reports, references and academic writing.
What is a stronger word than amazing?
Astounding, staggering and extraordinary feel stronger, because they are used less often.
Is “amazing” an adjective?
Yes, it is an adjective formed from the verb amaze, like interesting from interest. For more synonym guides in the same style, see another word for interesting.