Definition of "spectacular"

The like clamour, and outcry, the Rabble of the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles made againſt Polycarp Biſhop of Smyrna, at the time of his Martyrdom. crying out againſt him to the Governour, that he ſhould caſt him to the Lyons, and when he anſwered them he could not, becauſe the Spectacular ſports were concluded, then they cry’d out, Burn him, burn him, juſt as the Jews cryed out againſt Chriſt to Pilate, Crucify him, crucify him.

1681, George Hickes, A Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London

Those apparently insignificant events which really make history are seldom featured in the press; the merely spectacular too frequently crowds the essential out of the public sheets.

1910 August 21, Andre Tridon, “Europe Flirts with Argentina to Win Her Rich Trade”, in The New York Times‎

One of the more striking facets of these accounts of the Hell's Angels is the extent to which the defiant homosexual behavior they describe—especially the spectacular same-sex kissing—so closely mirrors the behavior of young women in the early twenty-first century.

2015, Jane Ward, Not Gay, New York University Press, page 70

Though business has more or less held up so far, a series of drug-related spectaculars sparked an exodus of the city's upper class this summer.

16 October 2010, “Under the volcano”, in The Economist

Here are a few examples of "spectaculars," or three-dimensional pieces, including those which have won awards […]

1966, Hanley Norins, The Compleat Copywriter