magnificence
/mæɡˈnɪfɪsəns/
magnificence means grandeur, brilliance, lavishness or splendor. It carries an Arena rating of 1689, earned across 27 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, magnificence ranks #1,795 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,709 of 42,752 for Qualifying, #3,919 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #5,451 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
magnificence is pronounced /mæɡˈnɪfɪsəns/.
Why “magnificence” is a great word
The quality or state of being splendid, grand, or impressively beautiful. From Middle English magnificence, from Old French magnificence, from Latin magnificentia ("splendor, munificence"), from magnificus ("great, noble"). Unlike "opulence," which clings to the gilded weight of purchased wealth, or "grandeur," which stands in awe of scale and solemn dignity, magnificence insists upon a breathtaking aesthetic splendor that can be inherent rather than acquired. It is the gold leaf ablaze on a Byzantine dome, the impossible symmetry of a snow-capped mountain range at dawn, the profound silence under the vault of a Gothic nave—a rare glimpse of a world arranged not for utility, but for awe, as if beauty itself had learned to breathe.
Etymology
From Middle English magnificence, from Old French magnificence, from Latin magnificentia.
noun
- grandeur, brilliance, lavishness or splendor
- The act of doing what is magnificent; the state or quality of being magnificent.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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