wunderkind

noun

wun·der·kind ˈvu̇n-dər-ˌkint

plural wunderkinder ˈvu̇n-dər-ˌkin-dər

: a child prodigy

also : one who succeeds in a competitive or highly difficult field or profession at an early age

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Baker, 66, first began working at the State House in his early 30s, serving under governors Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci, and earning a reputation as a wunderkind, first as a health and human services secretary and later as state budget chief. —

Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Jan. 2023 McElwee, a former TNR contributor, was once hailed as a progressive wunderkind. —

Tori Otten, The New Republic, 22 Dec. 2022 Theranos founder Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in the wake of her conviction on criminal-fraud charges, capping the extraordinary downfall of a onetime Silicon Valley wunderkind. —

WSJ, 19 Nov. 2022 No one is set to lose more from FTX’s implosion than Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto wunderkind who founded the exchange and then drove it into the ground this week. —

Chase Peterson-withorn, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022 Crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried has had an outsize role as a lender and creditor during the recent crypto crackup. —

Lucy Brewster, Fortune, 14 July 2022 The mainstream media, which was unsparing in describing the abrasiveness of Mr. Martin, have built Ms. Khan up as an enthralling wunderkind. —

Robert H. Bork Jr., WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023 Teen wunderkind Tyson Venegas stuns Lionel Richie Tyson Venegas, a 17-year-old who became inspired to pursue music after seeing a Richie concert with his mom at a young age, had a full circle moment when the judges awarded him the platinum ticket. —

Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2023 Few dance artists have had as big a 2022 as John Summit, the hard-partying mega-productive house wunderkind who’s been tearing through clubs and festivals in a post pandemic blaze of glory. —

Katie Bain, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wunderkind.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.