Meaning & use
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparablehumorousinformal
Used jokingly to describe something as extremely good, impressive, or delightful.
Grammar: Goes before a noun or after a linking verb: a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day; the show was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Patterns
- a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious something
- something is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
We spent the whole afternoon at the beach, and it was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
She wrote 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious party' on the invitation, and everyone laughed.
My little brother insists that his new bike is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
interjectionhumorousinformal
Said on its own as a playful burst of approval or delight, often to show off the long word.
Grammar: Stands alone as a comment, not attached to a noun: 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!' she shouted.
Patterns
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! That was the best goal I have ever seen.
'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!' the children yelled as the roller coaster dropped.
Common combinations
- absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- The fireworks over the harbor were absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
- sound supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- Their plan for the school fair sounds supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
- feel supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- After a long sleep and a good breakfast, I felt supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
- a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kind of day
- It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kind of day, full of small lucky moments.
- spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- Nobody in my class can spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious without checking.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wonderful
- The normal, everyday word for something very good; use it whenever you want to be understood by everyone.
- fantastic
- Stronger and more excited than 'good', and perfectly acceptable in speech and informal writing.
- marvelous
- Slightly old-fashioned and a little more formal, often used for things that cause real admiration.
Opposites
Commonly confused: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or supercilious? supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or superficial?
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious vs supercilious
A real adjective meaning 'behaving as if you are better than others'. It starts the same way but has nothing to do with having fun.
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious vs superficial
Means 'only on the surface, not deep'. The shared 'super-' beginning often tricks learners into mixing the two up.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word in a natural way?
Choose one answer.
The word is a joking adjective for something delightful, so it fits after 'was' to praise a concert. Option 0 fails because the word cannot mean 'bland' or 'needing salt'; options 2 and 3 fail because the word is not a verb and cannot take an object or an adverb ending.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.