epic

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈɛpɪk/ 🇺🇸 /ˈɛpɪk/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A long narrative poem, typically derived from ancient oral tradition, which celebrates the deeds of a heroic or legendary figure or the history of a nation.; A literary work or film of great length and scope, often depicting heroic deeds or grand historical events.; An extended or grand undertaking; a large-scale enterprise or achievement.
  2. adjective
    Of or relating to an epic poem or the genre of epic poetry.; Heroic, grand, or majestic in scale, scope, or character; impressively great.; Extending beyond the usual or ordinary, especially in size, duration, or extent; extraordinarily large or long.; (Informal, slang) Remarkably impressive, outstanding, or memorable; awesome.; (Informal, slang) Spectacularly bad or disastrous; a complete failure of notable magnitude.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: epics Comparative: more epic Superlative: most epic

Collocations

epic poemepic journeyepic failepic battleepic scaleof epic proportions

Derivatives

epicallyepicalepicness

Synonyms

grandheroicmonumentallegendarymagnificentsaga

Antonyms

trivialmundaneinsignificantpetty

Commonly confused

epoch
EN: 'Epoch' refers to a distinct period of time in history; 'epic' refers to a grand narrative or something impressively large-scale.
epical
EN: 'Epical' is a less common variant of 'epic' used as an adjective; 'epic' is the standard and far more frequent form.

Spelling tips

EN: Do not confuse 'epic' with 'epoch' (a period of time) or 'epicene' (having characteristics of both sexes). The word 'epic' has a single 'p' and a single 'c'.

💬 Examples

  1. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are among the most famous epics in Western literature.

  2. The director spent ten years making a three-hour epic about the fall of the Roman Empire.

  3. The construction of the transcontinental railroad was an epic of engineering and human endurance.

  4. The epic tradition in ancient Greece influenced generations of poets.

  5. The team made an epic comeback from a 20-point deficit to win the championship.

  6. We got stuck in an epic traffic jam that lasted over four hours.

  7. That concert last night was absolutely epic.

  8. The product launch was an epic fail, with the website crashing within minutes.