enfant terrible

noun

en·​fant ter·​ri·​ble äⁿ-fäⁿ-te-ˈrēblᵊ 

plural enfants terribles äⁿ-fäⁿ-te-ˈrēblᵊ 

1

a

: a child whose inopportune remarks cause embarrassment

b

: a person known for shocking remarks or outrageous behavior

2

: a usually young and successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde

Did you know?

Enfant terrible, which literally means "terrifying child" in French, sounds like something that might be uttered by a frazzled babysitter. Indeed, when English speakers first borrowed the term in the mid-19th century, it was used in reference to children - specifically, unpredictable children who blurted out outrageous remarks that embarrassed their elders. By the 1930s, the term had a broader application: an enfant terrible could be anyone - young or old - whose behavior shocked others. Now the term is also often applied to young, successful newcomers who shock or scare old-timers with their new approaches, easy successes, or disregard for tradition.

Synonyms

• bohemian
• boho
• counterculturist
• deviant
• free spirit
• heretic
• iconoclast
• individualist
• lone ranger
• lone wolf
• loner
• maverick
• nonconformer
• nonconformist

Example Sentences

an author who reveled in his role as the enfant terrible of American letters

Recent Examples on the Web

Estella enters the orbit of the Baroness (Emma Thompson), a fashion maven, becoming her apprentice, her in-house enfant terrible, and, lastly, her nemesis, courtesy of a twist so ridiculous that Cruella has to stand in the open air, at dawn, and spell it out for us. —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 May 2021

That Korine, a filmmaker for whom the term enfant terrible might have been invented, used a teen-movie formula to do this — as well as casting three former kid stars who were in the midst of changing their images — only makes this sleazefest more subversive. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023

This limited-edition offering from Geneva's enfant terrible horologer is simply spectacular. —Alex Doak, CNN, 9 Apr. 2021

Twenty-five years after wrapping season two of his twisted hospital soap (think Grey’s Anatomy meets David Lynch), Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier returns to his TV debut with season three. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Mar. 2022

With each successive effort, he’s gotten closer to answering the question: What happens when an enfant terrible grows up? —Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2022

After a 10-year hiatus, the enfant terrible of gay fiction, Dennis Cooper, returns with I Wished, which may just be his most surreal, disturbing, vulnerable work yet (which is saying a lot). —Vogue, 11 Aug. 2021

Von Trier’s willingness to play the enfant terrible was a big part of his early legend, but so was his almost preternatural assurance with a camera. —Adam Nayman, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2022

At 11 years and change, the enfant terrible is already sporting the hunchback and hook nose, and dreaming of world domination. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 13 June 2022

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Word History

Etymology

French, literally, terrifying child

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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