/mag nif"euh seuhns/ , n.
1. the quality or state of being magnificent; splendor; grandeur; sublimity: the magnificence of snow-covered mountains; the magnificence of his achievements.
2. impressiveness of surroundings: the magnificence of Versailles.
[ 1300-50; ME magnificentia, equiv. to magnificent- MAGNIFICENT + -ia -Y 3 ; see -ENCE ]
Syn. 1. majesty, nobility, stateliness. 2. luxuriousness, opulence, sumptuousness.
Ant. 2. squalor, poverty.