telegenic

adjective

tele·​ge·​nic ˌte-lə-ˈje-nik 

-ˈjē-

: well-suited to the medium of television

especially : having an appearance and manner that are markedly attractive to television viewers

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The History of Telegenic

Telegenic debuted in the 1930s, a melding of television with photogenic, “suitable for being photographed especially because of visual appeal.” The word photogenic had other, more technical meanings before it developed that one in the early decades of the 20th century, but the modern meaning led to the use of -genic of interest here: “suitable for production or reproduction by a given medium.” (That sense is also found in the rarer videogenic, a synonym of telegenic.) Telegenic may seem like a word that would primarily be used to describe people, but there is evidence of telegenic describing events (such as popular sports), objects, and responses. Occasionally, one even sees reference to a telegenic attitude, presence, charisma, or other intangible.

Examples of telegenic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When, after the post-war years of austerity and misery, the country established itself once again in the 1960s as a world power to be reckoned with, thanks to the dual strengths of the canny Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the telegenic young Queen. —Alexander Larman, TIME, 5 May 2024

His telegenic quality belies his isolation from the media ecosystem. —Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

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