Basic Details
Word: Grandeur
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Great size, beauty and splendour that makes a place or event look impressive and important.
Synonyms: splendour, magnificence, majesty, glory
Antonyms: plainness, simplicity
Word origin: Borrowed from French, from grand, 'great'.
How to Spell Grandeur
Syllables: gran - deur
Tricky part: The ending is the French eur, not ure or er. Because it sounds like grand-yuh or grand-jur, students write grandure or grandour.
Watch out for: grandure, grandour, grandeour
Memory tip: Start with grand, then add the French ending eur that you also see at the end of amateur and chauffeur.
Idioms and Phrases
- delusions of grandeur: a false belief that you are far more important than you really are Example: "After winning one quiz, Varun had delusions of grandeur and started calling himself a genius."
Usage Examples
Example 1: We stood silent before the grandeur of the Himalayas at sunrise.
Example 2: Even in ruins, Hampi keeps much of its old grandeur.
Example 3: The grandeur of the palace hall, with its chandeliers and painted ceilings, left the visitors speechless.
Fun Fact
In French, grandeur also means plain size, so a French label that says grandeur nature means life-size.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word grandeur as used in the sentence:
The tourists were struck by the grandeur of the marble palace on the lake.
a) majesty
b) splendour
c) glory
d) plainness
Show answer
d) plainness. Splendour, majesty and glory all mean the same as grandeur; plainness is its opposite.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
grandeour
a) e
b) o
c) d
d) u
Show answer
b) o. Grandeur ends in eur; the o crept in from the ending of words like colour.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Tall gateways and carved pillars still show the duergnra of the old fort.
a) gardener
b) grandson
c) grandeur
d) guarantee
Show answer
c) grandeur. There is a u and only one e in the jumble, which rules out gardener and guarantee, and grandson needs an s and an o.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which place is most likely to be praised for its grandeur?
a) a small bus shelter by the road
b) a plastic chair on a balcony
c) a towering palace with painted halls
d) a puddle in a parking lot
Show answer
c) a towering palace with painted halls
2. The ending eur in grandeur comes from which language?
a) Hindi
b) French
c) Japanese
d) Greek
Show answer
b) French
