Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

prima donna

play
noun pri·ma don·na \ˌpri-mə-ˈdä-nə, ˌprē-\

Definition of prima donna

plural

prima donnas

  1. 1 :  a principal female singer in an opera or concert organization

  2. 2 :  a vain or undisciplined person who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team

See prima donna defined for English-language learners

See prima donna defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

prima-donna
Prima Donna: Trended on April 5, 2012
alt-5970fcc51169b
Trending: An Interview Full of 'Non sequiturs'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Examples of prima donna in a Sentence

  1. The actress is a temperamental prima donna.

  2. We are looking for team players, not prima donnas.

Origin and Etymology of prima donna

Italian, literally, first lady

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, presto, refrain, riff, segue

PRIMA DONNA Defined for English Language Learners

prima donna

play
noun

Definition of prima donna for English Language Learners

  • : the main female singer in an opera company

  • : a person who thinks she or he is better than everyone else and who does not work well as part of a team or group

Learn More about prima donna

  1. See words that rhyme with prima donna

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up prima donna? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

gauche

play

lacking social experience or grace

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  2. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  3. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  4. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

  5. bona fide Made in good faith

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

prima donna

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: prima donna in a Sentence