Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-request><adjectives><synonyms><superlatives>
Title: What is the right word to describe something more than "great"
Question: I need to write short email that will state something like:   ..that will turn a good company into a ... company.   What would be a proper word that I can use?

Answers:
sents: text: Consider excellent very good of its kind, eminently good or outstanding . extremely good or excellent note that these words start with vowels, so the 'a' turns into 'an'
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/18673/Glorfindel
score: 16
sents: text: Hrm, just a few observations on some of the answers here, from an American English speaker: Many English versions of the word you're looking for were historically used to refer to things that are large in size, and can sometimes cause confusion on whether it's exceptionally good, or exceptionally large.
text: In context the difference is often clear, but when describing a company (which could be made larger)
text: the meaning may not be so clear.
text: Be careful when using words like "tremendous" or even "great" / "grand".
text: Similarly, many English words come from descriptions of things that are so exceptional that they are better than real life.
text: "Fantastic" can frequently be used to describe something that has an element of fantasy, which it's unlikely that your company would have.
text: "Legendary" and "epic" can suffer from the same.
text: Additionally, due to its (over)use in modern informal speech I think "epic" has lost much of its weight and may also appear informal, as user13267 mentioned.
text: "Marvelous" and "phenomenal" aren't bad suggestions at all, but CAN have an air of supernatural greatness (i.e. more "great" than something can ever be in real life) similar to the previous bunch.
text: Personally, I think these would probably work in the given context.
text: "Exemplary" isn't bad, but may sometimes imply something that sets an example for others to follow.
text: This might fit your case, however.
text: I like Thomas Mario Adams III's suggestion of "outstanding", particularly because this company would literally "stand out" from among other merely "great" companies.
text: It's also term that is very familiar to corporate readers.
text: You may want to add emphasis by saying the company will become "truly outstanding".
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/21595/A C
score: 13
sents: text: You may consider Exceptional From the online dictionary , definition 2: unusually excellent; superior: an exceptional violinist.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/18262/Spratty
score: 8
sents: text: Phenomenal adjective highly extraordinary or prodigious; exceptional: Source astounding, exceptional Source Usage example: ...will turn a good company into a phenomenal success!
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/9691/Hanky Panky
score: 4
sents: text: Consider an exemplary company as a way to express that this company will be turned into "something more than great"
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/29775/Violette
score: 2
sents: text: Think of marvelous, fantastic, the best .
text: The best is fine.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/25687/V.V.
score: 1
sents: text: In addition to the others I would like to add Superb, Epic, Legendary
text: This answer over on English.
text: SE has a good amount of information on intensifiers like this that is worth a read.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/11142/Sabre
score: 1
sents: text: Many companies today are referred to as "great" companies.
text: But great has become cliche.
text: What I'm saying is even better than great, it's an "outstanding" company.
text: An outlier to the great ones.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/30889/Thomas Mario Adams III
score: 0
sents: text: I would suggest the word remarkable Remarkable: 1.notably or conspicuously unusual; extraordinary:a remarkable change.
text: 2.worthy of notice or attention.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/30942/Timothy Steele
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Suggestions include: exemplary, marvelous, fastastic, superb, legendary, epic, truly outstanding, remarkable, exceptional, and phenomenal.
Exemplary, fantastic, the best, superb, outstanding, remarkable, exceptional, phenomenal and excellent may all be used.