prodigy

noun

prod·i·gy ˈprä-də-jē

plural prodigies

Synonyms of prodigy next

: a highly talented child or youth

: an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event

: something extraordinary or inexplicable

: a portentous event : omen

Did you know?

Is a prodigy a genius or a monster - or both? Nowadays, it's the talent that shines through, but back in the 15th century the word's meaning was more strongly influenced by that of its Latin ancestor, prodigium, meaning "omen" or "monster." Back then, a prodigy could be any strange or weird thing that might be an omen of things to come. Even in modern English, the word sometimes refers to an extraordinary deed or accomplishment. P.G. Wodehouse used that sense when he described how a character named Pongo Twistleton was "performing prodigies with the [billiard] cue."

Examples of prodigy in a Sentence

a new drug that is being hailed as the latest prodigy of the medical world

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.

The longtime automotive veteran — a prodigy of former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn — was widely heralded in recent years for spearheading the merger and making Stellantis one of the world’s most profitable automakers. —

Michael Wayland, CNBC, 1 Dec. 2024 The other is the first big-screen work by a pair of 20-something prodigies who made a splash with the equivalent of unauthorized musical fan fiction — which won them a Grammy. —

Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024 Born in Poland in 1810, Chopin was a child prodigy who began composing at a young age and went on to study at the Warsaw Conservatory. —

Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Oct. 2024 Jeremy Bentham, a utilitarian philosopher and reformer, was a child prodigy. —

Jonathan Wai, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for prodigy