par excellence

adjective

par ex·​cel·​lence ˈpär-ˌek-sə-ˈläns  ˈpär-ˌek-sə-ˈläⁿs 

: being the best of a kind : preeminent

a chef par excellence

Synonyms

• excellent
• wonderful
• awesome
• lovely
• terrific
• great
• beautiful
• superb
• fabulous
• fantastic
• stellar
• fine
• marvelous
• marvellous
• prime
• hot
• quality

Examples of par excellence in a Sentence

sophisticated cuisine that is obviously the work of a chef par excellence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s an ongoing fight to become the next platform par excellence. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2025

The show’s litigant par excellence has been updated as well. —Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025

But then comes Donald Trump, the disruptor par excellence, who on Wednesday threatened staggering 50% tariffs on imports from the world’s fourth largest economy. —Salil Tripathi, Time, 8 Aug. 2025

Those entities, including combinations of actual banks, also acted and act as regulators par excellence precisely because no private entity lends blithely. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, by excellence

First Known Use

1695, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

par excellence

adverb or adjective

par ex·​cel·​lence ˌpär-ˌek-sə-ˈläns 

: in the highest degree : above all others