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
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
27 June 2026
The 31-year-old is set to make history as the youngest host of the prestigious award show.
—
Mikey Fresh,
VIBE.com,
26 June 2026
The annual £120,000 ($158,000) honor is the most prestigious museum prize in the nation and the largest of its kind in the world.
—
News Desk,
Artforum,
26 June 2026
Times theater critic Charles McNulty was awarded the prestigious Nell Minow Award for Cultural Criticism by the National Press Club this week.
—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 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 29 Jun. 2026.
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