Awesome vs Amazing
Awesome and amazing are both used to express that something or someone is excellent or great, but used with some difference as there is a slight difference between them in meaning. Knowing this difference between awesome and amazing can help you to use them appropriately. In the English language, we use a variety of words to express that something or someone is excellent or great. However, this does not necessarily denote that all these words convey the same meaning. The words awesome and amazing are two such words that go in the same direction, but have slight differences. In spite of these differences, we tend to use these interchangeably in day to day language. Simply, awesome refers to something being great whereas amazing gives a more sense of surprise. This article attempts to present a broad understanding of these two terms while emphasizing the possible differences.
What does Awesome mean?
The word awesome is an adjective, which denotes that something is extremely good or else impressive. For example, if someone says ‘she is awesome’ this generally means that the person has a very good personality, qualities, and overall a wonderful person. However, it can also convey a feeling of greatness or sensation. For example, if we say, it was an awesome performance, this gives away the idea that the performance was mind blowing and sensational. Yet when we pay attention to the word amazing there is a slight difference.
What does Amazing mean?
The word amazing can be defined as astonishing or else excellent. This is also an adjective, just as amazing. In a way, this is similar to awesome as both express a sense of excellence and grandeur. Yet the difference between the two stems from the element of surprise that we can note in the word amazing. It highlights a sense of surprise or else wonder. For example, if we say, ‘Considering his condition, his recovery was amazing’. This gives away the idea that it was almost miraculous. If we use the word awesome in the same sentence instead of amazing, ‘Considering his condition, his recovery was awesome.’ This sounds rather odd. This is because the element of surprise is lost in this case. Here are some more examples for amazing.
Given her short-tempered nature, it was amazing to see her be patient with that annoying child.
Here, a woman, who is short-tempered is being patient with a child. This child is annoying. So, this short-tempered person being patient with an annoying child is very surprising. Therefore, the word amazing is used.
When referring to people, we can use both amazing and awesome as it does not highlight much of a difference. For example, whether we say he is amazing or he is awesome does not really capture a significant difference in the individual that we are referring to.
However, as mentioned in the example earlier (Considering his condition, his recovery was amazing), there are instances where the usage of these two can be rather tricky. In such instances, it is necessary to bear in mind of the element of surprise.
“Given her short-tempered nature, it was amazing to see her be patient with that annoying child.”
What is the difference between Awesome and Amazing?
• Awesome refers to something being extremely good or else impressive.
• It can also convey a feeling of greatness or sensation.
• Amazing can be defined as astonishing or excellent.
• The difference between the two stems from the element of surprise that can be sensed in the word amazing and is invisible in the word, awesome.
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