To save this word, you’ll need to log in. One common complaint regarding the adjectival use of amazing is the extent to which the word is used in what some feel is a watered-down fashion. Amazing valentines gifts for her who take this position argue that unless someone is literally being amazed, the word is ill-chosen.

While this defense of semantic integrity is understandable, we must point out that the broadened meaning of amazing is hardly an isolated case. In fact, a number of words that are semantically similar to amazing have also come unmoored from their original meanings. He showed an amazing lack of concern for others. The amazing thing is that no one knows where it came from. He has an amazing ability to learn new languages.

Her grandmother was really an amazing woman. The fact that something so enormous in our sky has escaped detection until now is amazing, if not entirely surprising to astronomers. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 12 Jan. That kind of palpable physical connection to ancestors who may have died hundreds of years ago is amazing. Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Jan. And people can argue about Babylon, but not about its score, which is amazing.