breathtaking
/ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/
breathtaking means stunningly beautiful; amazing. It carries an Arena rating of 1689, earned across 73 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, breathtaking ranks #407 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #448 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #764 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,567 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
breathtaking is pronounced /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/.
Why “breathtaking” is a great word
Stunningly beautiful, amazing, or so surprising as to cause visceral astonishment. From the English words 'breath' (air drawn into the lungs) and the present participle 'taking' (of the verb 'to take'), thus 'taking one's breath away'; first attested in 1867. Unlike 'beautiful,' which suggests a tranquil aesthetic pleasure, or 'surprising,' which merely indicates the unexpected, breathtaking describes an intensity that overwhelms the senses, forcing a temporary arrest of the body's most fundamental rhythm. It is the silent, vertiginous view from a mountain precipice, the involuntary gasp when a whale breaches beside your small boat, or the sudden shock of a masterpiece encountered in an empty gallery—each a moment so potent it halts the very machinery of life, as if beauty itself had reached in and stolen something you did not know you could spare.
Etymology
From breath + taking.
adj
- stunningly beautiful; amazinge.g.“He went to the Grand Canyon and spent a week taking in the breathtaking scenery all around him.”
- Very surprising or shocking; to such a degree as to cause astonishment.e.g.“breathtaking stupidity or rudeness”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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