Synonyms

goodness gracious

Idioms

Also, good gracious; gracious sakes. Exclamation of surprise, dismay, or alarm, as in Goodness gracious! You've forgotten your ticket. Both goodness and gracious originally alluded to the good (or grace) of God, but these colloquial expressions, which date from the 1700s, are not considered either vulgar or blasphemous.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Goodness gracious, you have two whole days left,” said Aunt Pretty.

From Literature

Meera Syal, now Dame Meera, was part of the team that created sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, which explored British Asian culture, and played the grandmother in The Kumars at No. 42.

From BBC

The South African-born English writer also penned the lyrics to the 1960 song Goodness Gracious Me, made famous by Sellers and Sophia Loren.

From BBC

I remember early on being like, “Goodness gracious — that voice.”

From Los Angeles Times

I wish to goodness gracious that PBS were in a position to do that.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023