legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈle-jən-ˌder-ē 

-ˌde-rē

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of legend or a legend

legendary creatures of the sea

2

: well-known, famous

a legendary football player

legendarily

ˌle-jən-ˈder-ə-lē 

-ˈde-rə-

adverb

Synonyms of legendary

• mythical
• famed
• fabled

Choose the Right Synonym for legendary

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented.

fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Examples of legendary in a Sentence

legendary creatures from the sea

He is the most legendary football player of his time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Spanning the final years before the events of Martin’s novels, the production is billed as a sweeping stage epic that brings to life a legendary chapter of the history of Westeros. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Apr. 2026

The footage from the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows the legendary golfer undergoing a field sobriety test, being placed into handcuffs and then driven from the scene in the back of the patrol vehicle following Friday's crash. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026

Collected across multiple excavation projects, the items are offering historians an unprecedented look at life in the province of Gelderland–named after the legendary death rattle of a dragon–during Roman occupation. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Apr. 2026

That's the upcoming feature-length documentary that chronicles the life of legendary late Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker. —Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legendary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈlej-ən-ˌder-ē 

1

: of or resembling a legend

2

: well-known, famous