spectacular

Pluralspectaculars

1. 1
   adjective

   Strikingly impressive, or otherwise worthy of special notice.

   The team made a spectacular comeback in the final minutes of the match.

   Critics praised the spectacular scenery throughout the film.

   Similarstunning, impressive, breathtaking, dramatic, magnificent

   Oppositeunremarkable, ordinary, dull, unimpressive

   Note

   The everyday meaning, and the one furthest from its Latin root: spectaculum meant simply "a sight, a show," and English added -ar to make the adjective. Here the show has become a verdict, so a comeback, a view or a parachute jump can all be spectacular. It compares with more and most, never -er and -est: the more spectacular lines, the most spectacular finish.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   An impressive, large-scale display or show staged to impress an audience.

   The studio produced a glossy spectacular to mark its hundredth anniversary.

   The festival closed with a fireworks spectacular that drew thousands.

   Similarextravaganza, show, display, pageant

   Note

   The adjective turned noun, with a regular plural: spectaculars. It usually names something staged for a crowd, such as a fireworks spectacular. Journalism also bends it toward irony, as in The Economist's 2010 report of "drug-related spectaculars" driving a city's upper class away. In that use it means violent, headline-grabbing events, not entertainment.

3. 3
   adjectivedated

   Belonging to or typical of spectacles and other shows staged to entertain the public.

   The Victorian theater specialized in spectacular productions full of pageantry and stage tricks.

   Those apparently insignificant events which really make history are seldom featured in the press; the merely spectacular too frequently crowds the essential out of the public sheets.

   1910, Andre Tridon, “Europe Flirts with Argentina to Win Her Rich Trade”

   Similartheatrical, showy

   Note

   The older, more literal meaning, now dated: it calls something a show rather than praising it. It is often heard in the phrase the merely spectacular, as when Andre Tridon complained in 1910 that it crowds the essential out of the newspapers. Modern readers will usually hear the "amazing" meaning instead, so where staging is meant, theatrical or showy is the safer word.

4. 4
   adjective

   Relating to spectacles, the glasses worn to correct eyesight.

   The optometrist recommended thinner spectacular lenses for his strong prescription.

   A row of spectacular frames hung on the optician's wall, each waiting for a pair of prescription lenses.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A folded paper element that pops up in printed material sent by postal mail.

   The marketing team added a pop-up spectacular to make the brochure stand out in the mailbox.

   Each catalog included a paper spectacular that sprang up to reveal the new logo.

   Similarpop-up

   Note

   A piece of direct-mail jargon for the die-cut, folded paper insert that springs up when the recipient opens the envelope. Hanley Norins's The Compleat Copywriter (1966) still explains the word to its readers as a name for "three-dimensional pieces," a sign of trade slang being taught to newcomers. Outside advertising, pop-up is the word most readers will recognize.

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