fabulous

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fābulōsus (“celebrated in fable”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈfæbjʊləs/

Adjective

fabulous (comparative more fabulous, superlative most fabulous)

Of or relating to fable, myth or legend.
Characteristic of fables; marvelous, extraordinary, incredible.
Fictional or not believable; made up.
(obsolete) Known for telling fables or falsehoods; unreliable.
(slang) Very good; outstanding, wonderful.
(slang or euphemistic) Gay or pertaining to gay people.
(slang) Camp, effeminate.
(slang) Fashionable, glamorous

Usage notes

In the sense of wonderful, the word may become associated with gay men. This may be the direct result of its former usage among valley girls.

Quotations

For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:fabulous.

Synonyms

Thesaurus:excellent
Thesaurus:gay

Derived terms

fab
FAB/F.A.B.
fabulously
fabulousness

Related terms

fable

Translations

mythical or legendary; incredible

Bulgarian: легендарен (bg) (legendaren)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 传奇式的 (zh), 神话式的 (zh)
Finnish: tarunomainen
German: mythisch (de), unglaubhaft, nicht glaubwürdig
Greek:
Ancient Greek: μυθώδης (muthṓdēs)

Indonesian: menakjubkan (id)
Latvian: pasakains
Portuguese: fabuloso (pt)
Romanian: mitic (ro), legendar (ro), incredibil (ro)
Russian: невероя́тный (ru) (neverojátnyj), необычайный (ru) (neobyčajnyj)
Spanish: increíble (es), fabuloso (es)

of the nature of a fable; unhistorical

Bulgarian: баснословен (bg) (basnosloven)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 寓言(似)的 (zh)
Finnish: tarumainen (fi)
French: fabuleux (fr)
German: sagenhaft (de), sagenumwoben (de), unhistorisch (de)
Italian: favoloso (it)

Latvian: pasakains
Norman: fabuleux (Jersey)
Portuguese: fabuloso (pt), fantástico (pt)
Romanian: fabulos (ro)
Russian: сказочный (ru) (skazočnyj), баснословный (ru) (basnoslovnyj)
Spanish: fantástico (es), fabuloso (es)
Swedish: sagolik (sv)

extraordinary, especially in being very large

Bulgarian: преувеличен (bg) (preuveličen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 非凡 (zh) (fēifán), 了不起 (zh) (liǎobuqǐ)
Finnish: satumainen (fi) (of riches), mahtava (fi)
German: sagenhaft (de), außerordentlich (de), außergewöhnlich (de)

Kyrgyz: легендарлуу (ky) (legendarluu)
Romanian: extraordinar (ro), fabulos (ro)
Russian: преувеличенный (ru) (preuveličennyj)
Spanish: extraordinario (es), fabuloso (es)

very good; wonderful

Bulgarian: чудесен (bg) (čudesen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 极好 (zh) (jíhǎo)
Danish: fabelagtig, fantastisk
Finnish: satumainen (fi)
German: fabelhaft (de), märchenhaft (de), wunderbar (de)
Hebrew: נפלא‎ (he) (niflá)
Italian: favoloso (it)
Kyrgyz: укмуштуу (ky) (ukmuştuu), сыйкырдуу (ky) (sıykırduu)

Latvian: pasakains
Norwegian: fabelaktig (no)
Portuguese: fabuloso (pt)
Romanian: foarte bun, extrem de bun
Russian: потряса́ющий (ru) (potrjasájuščij)
Spanish: maravilloso (es), fabuloso (es)
Swedish: fantastisk (sv), underbar (sv), fabulös (sv)
Turkish: şahane (tr)
Yiddish: פֿאַנטאַסטיש‎ (fantastish)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

French: ^{(please verify)} fabuleux (fr)

Norman: ^{(please verify)} fabuleux (Jersey)