mountainous

English

Etymology

From mountain +‎ -ous after Middle French montagneux, from Late Latin montāniōsus, from montānia, from Latin montem (“mountain”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʊn.tɪn.əs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General Australian, New Zealand; US with weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʊn.tən.əs/, [ˈmæʊn.tn̩.əs], [-ʔn̩-], [ˈmæ̃ʊ̃(n)-]

Adjective

mountainous (comparative more mountainous, superlative most mountainous)

1. Having many mountains; characterized by mountains; of the nature of a mountain; rough (terrain); rocky.
   • 1705, George Cheyne, “Of the Existence of a Deity”, in Philosophical Principles of Natural Religion: […], London: […] George Strahan […], →OCLC, § XXIX, page 184:

     [Water vapour bubbles] hit againſt the ſides of the more eminent and Mountainous Places, of the Globe, and by this Concuſſion are condenſed, and thus become heavier than the Air they ſvvom in, and ſo gleet dovvn the rocky Caverns of theſe Mountains, […]

   • 2024, Simon Montlake, In mountainous North Carolina, residents are the first responders after Hurricane Helene, in: The Christian Science Monitor, October 1 2024, headline

     In mountainous North Carolina, residents are the first responders after Hurricane Helene[.]

2. Resembling a mountain, especially in size; huge; towering.
   • 2016 November 28, Mike Vorkunov, “Despite Flash of Rose’s Prime, Knicks Are Dazed by Westbrook and Thunder”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     But the added size did not give them an advantage this time. Not when Kanter and Adams, two mountainous players, could match the Knicks’ girth with their own.

3. (figurative, of a problem or task) Very difficult.
4. (obsolete) Inhabiting mountains; hence, barbarous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:large

Derived terms

• intramountainous (adjective)
• mountainously (adverb)
• mountainousness (noun)
• nonmountainous (adjective)
• unmountainous (adjective)

 

Related terms

• mountain (noun)

 

Translations

having many mountains

• Arabic: جَبَلِيّ (jabaliyy)

  Hijazi Arabic: جَبَلي (jabali)

• Armenian: լեռնային (hy) (leṙnayin)
• Asturian: montosu (ast)
• Azerbaijani: dağlıq (az)
• Belarusian: гары́сты (be) (harýsty)
• Bulgarian: плани́нски (planínski)
• Catalan: muntanyós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 多山的 (zh) (duōshān de)

• Czech: hornatý (cs)
• Danish: bjergrig
• Dutch: bergachtig (nl)
• Esperanto: montara, montoza (eo)
• Finnish: vuoristoinen (fi)
• French: montagneux (fr)
• Galician: montañoso (gl)
• Georgian: მთიანი (mtiani)
• German: bergig (de), gebirgig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ὀρεινός (oreinós)

• Hungarian: hegyes (hu), hegyi (hu), hegyvidéki (hu)
• Ido: montoza (io)
• Ingrian: mäekäs
• Irish: sléibhtiúil, sléibhteach
• Italian: montagnoso (it), montuoso (it)
• Kazakh: таулы (tauly)
• Khakas: тағлығ (tağlığ)
• Latin: montōsus
• Macedonian: планински (planinski)
• Middle English: mountuous
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: уулархаг (mn) (uularxag), уулархуу (uularxuu)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fjellrik

  Nynorsk: fjellrik

• Persian: کوهستانی (fa) (kuhestâni)
• Piedmontese: montagnos, montos
• Plautdietsch: boajich
• Polish: górzysty (pl)
• Portuguese: montanhoso (pt)
• Romansch: alpin
• Russian: гори́стый (ru) (gorístyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: beanntach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пла̀нӣнскӣ, брдо̀вит, го̀рскӣ, горо̀вит

  Roman: plànīnskī (sh), brdòvit (sh), gòrskī (sh), goròvit (sh)

• Shor: тағлығ (tağlığ)
• Slovak: hornatý
• Slovene: gôrski
• Spanish: montañoso (es)
• Swedish: bergig (sv), fjällrik (sv)
• Tagalog: mabundok
• Tausug: mabūd
• Turkish: dağlık (tr)
• Tuvan: даглыг (daglıg)
• Ukrainian: гори́стий (horýstyj)
• Uzbek: togʻlik (uz)
• Welsh: mynyddog (cy)
• Yakut: хайалаах (qayalaaq)

resembling a mountain

• Czech: ohromný (cs), obrovský (cs)
• Esperanto: monta
• Finnish: järkälemäinen (fi), vuorenkokoinen, jättimäinen (fi)
• Russian: гороподо́бный (goropodóbnyj)
• Turkish: dağsı, dağımsı

very difficult

• Finnish: visainen (fi)

See also

• hilly