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

• fabled
• fabulous
• mythical
• mythic

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

The film simultaneously functions as a passing-of-the-torch moment between two legendary stars and a celebration of Newman, who won his only (and long-overdue) Oscar for his performance. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 24 May 2025

The Estes Space Shuttle is a 1:200 scale model of the legendary craft, complete with booster rockets and a fuel tank. —Ian Stokes, Space.com, 23 May 2025

Today, Cocker is sitting in Katz’s Delicatessen, the most legendary eatery on the Lower East Side. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2025

Speaking of attire, Max Azria, founder of women’s fashion brand BCBG (not to be confused with CBGB, the legendary dive bar turned NYC punk nirvana), likely found the six-bedroom layout perfect for his eye for fashion. —Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025

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