magnum opus
noun
Did you know?
You may recognize magnum (meaning "great") as a Latin word that shows up in altered forms in several English words, and perhaps you can also come up with a few words that are related to opus ("work"). Magnitude, magnanimous, opulent, and operate are some obvious relations of the two. Magnum opus, which entered English in the 18th century, retains the original Latin spelling and the literal meaning "great work." Although the term most often refers to literary, musical, or artistic productions, it has been used to describe many kinds of great works, including games, construction projects, and even surgical techniques.
Examples of magnum opus in a Sentence
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 24 June 2025
Buckley would never finish his magnum opus of political philosophy, to be titled The Revolt Against the Masses, a reference to the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset’s classic Revolt of the Masses.
—Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Advertisement Three movies into this saga, with two still to come, does Boyle ultimately care how people classify his horror magnum opus?
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 June 2025
It’s been almost a decade since Elon Musk stood in front of a crowd in Guadalajara, Mexico, and unveiled his magnum opus of a plan to take us all, or at least our species, to Mars.
—Eric MacK, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for magnum opus
Cite this Entry
“Magnum opus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magnum%20opus. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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magnum opus
noun
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