prestigious
adjective
-ˈstē-
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
Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Peters is the only American chef to ever win gold at the prestigious Bocuse d'Or, a global competition held every two years, taking home the prize in 2017.
—Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 30 Jan. 2026
The winner of the prestigious grand prize was the soundtrack of an indie game, the Urban Myth Dissolution Center Original Soundtrack.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2026
Earlier this month, Dempsey was named to the newest cohort of Schwarzman Scholars, a prestigious fellowship program that sends graduate students to Tsinghua University in Beijing to study global affairs.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prestigious
Cite this Entry
“Prestigious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestigious. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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