prodigy
noun
Did you know?
Is a prodigy a genius or a monster - or both? Nowadays, it's the talent that shines through, but back in the 15th century the word's meaning was more strongly influenced by that of its Latin ancestor, prodigium, meaning "omen" or "monster." Back then, a prodigy could be any strange or weird thing that might be an omen of things to come. Even in modern English, the word sometimes refers to an extraordinary deed or accomplishment. P.G. Wodehouse used that sense when he described how a character named Pongo Twistleton was "performing prodigies with the [billiard] cue."
Examples of prodigy in a Sentence
Frederick Dreier, Outside, 16 Mar. 2026
Tom Hulce is daffy and delicious as the airhead prodigy Mozart, but few of us can identify with that kind of genius.
—Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026
Before Trucks brought out Tiger onstage, he was spotted at the auction on that rainy Thursday afternoon (six feet tall with a long blonde ponytail at the nape of his neck, the 46-year-old guitar prodigy is hard to miss).
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2026
On a fall day in 1918 in a brick building along the Mohawk River, the men running the GE Research Lab opened their doors to a 20-year-old prodigy who happened to be a woman – she was hired not as a curiosity, not as a token, but as a scientist.
—Natalia Sánchez Loayza, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prodigy
Cite this Entry
“Prodigy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prodigy. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prodigy
noun
