prestigious

adjective

pres·ti·gious pre-ˈsti-jəs

-ˈstē-

also prə-

Synonyms of prestigious next

: having prestige : honored

archaic : of, relating to, or marked by illusion, conjuring, or trickery

prestigiously adverb

prestigiousness noun

Did you know?

You might expect, based on how adjectives are often formed in English, that today’s word is an extension of the noun prestige. However, although both words share the same Latin root, they entered English by different routes and at different times. Moreover, both adjective and noun once had more to do with trickery than respect when they were first used. Prestigious came directly from the Latin adjective praestigiosis, meaning “full of tricks” or “deceitful,” and had a similar meaning upon entering English in the mid-16th century. Praestigiosis in turn came from the plural noun praestigiae, meaning “conjurer’s tricks.” This noun also gave English the word prestige, though it first passed through French and arrived a century after prestigious. Though it wasn’t first on the block, prestige influenced prestigious in a different way, by eventually developing an extended sense of “standing or esteem.” That change spurred a similar development in prestigious, which now means simply “illustrious or esteemed.”

Examples of prestigious in a Sentence

a nutritional study that has been published by a prestigious medical journal the most prestigious social club in town

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Wynn Las Vegas Director of Wine Brian Weitzman leads this charge, constantly pursuing prestigious bottle acquisitions. —

Melinda Sheckells, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024 The Lexus Melbourne Cup, held annually in November at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse, is a prestigious Group 1 horse race with a 3,200-meter track and an $8.56 million prize pool, surpassing the Kentucky Derby’s $3 million. —

Maggie Clancy, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024 But the biggest stunner in polling, perhaps from the entire cycle, came on Saturday with the release of the final prestigious Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey of Iowa that found Harris leading Trump by 3 points, 47 percent to 44 percent. —

Jared Gans, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024 Over the past decade, this prestigious part of Beverly Hills has quietly evolved into a dependable dining destination. —

Brad Japhe, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for prestigious