telegenic
adjective
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The History of Telegenic
Telegenic debuted in the 1930s, a melding of television with photogenic, “suitable for being photographed especially because of visual appeal.” The word photogenic had other, more technical meanings before it developed that one in the early decades of the 20th century, but the modern meaning led to the use of -genic of interest here: “suitable for production or reproduction by a given medium.” (That sense is also found in the rarer videogenic, a synonym of telegenic.) Telegenic may seem like a word that would primarily be used to describe people, but there is evidence of telegenic describing events (such as popular sports), objects, and responses. Occasionally, one even sees reference to a telegenic attitude, presence, charisma, or other intangible.
Examples of telegenic in a Sentence
Liz Mair, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2025
Below, newlywed and habitual gym rat Jeff Bezos, looking mighty fit on the arm of his telegenic bride Lauren Sanchez, channels his very best Saturday Night Fever Tony Manero, as played by John Travolta.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Kirk, 31, was a hugely successful political field organizer, TikTok influencer, radio host, nonprofit leader and public speaker all rolled up in one telegenic figure.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
The others can be autoimmune (alopecia areata), stress or illness related (telegenic effluvium), or related to physical pulling or tugging (traction alopecia).
—Marilyn La Jeunesse, Allure, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for telegenic
Cite this Entry
“Telegenic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telegenic. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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