English

Adjective

magnificent ‎(comparative more magnificent, superlative most magnificent)

1. Grand, elegant or splendid in appearance.
   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Case of Miss Elliott:

     “Do I fidget you ?” he asked apologetically, whilst his long bony fingers buried themselves, string, knots, and all, into the capacious pockets of his magnificent tweed ulster.

2. Grand or noble in action.
3. Exceptional for its kind.
   • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:

     They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.

   • 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1-6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:

     Substitute Edin Dzeko scrambled in a fourth and the magnificent David Silva ran clear to add another, before the Bosnian striker inflicted the final wound seconds from the end.

Related terms

• magnificence
• beneficent
• maleficent
• munificent

Translations

Latin

Verb

magnificent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of magnificō