as in bohemian
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
an author who reveled in his role as the enfant terrible of American letters
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Recent Examples of enfant terrible
From the get-go, many recognized Ms. Sagan as a genuine talent, with critics likening her to the fellow literary enfant terrible Colette.
—
Sadie Stein, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Artist, filmmaker, and former enfant terrible Harmony Korine is closing in on the New York premiere of his latest film, Baby Invasion.
—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Well, my editor, Judith Regan, was the enfant terrible of publishing in the ‘90s.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them, 9 Dec. 2024
The political enfants terribles of the Left, Right, and center are stuck with one another until July 2025 — the soonest that another snap election can be called.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 5 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for enfant terrible
Sadie Stein, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Artist, filmmaker, and former enfant terrible Harmony Korine is closing in on the New York premiere of his latest film, Baby Invasion.
—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Well, my editor, Judith Regan, was the enfant terrible of publishing in the ‘90s.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them, 9 Dec. 2024
The political enfants terribles of the Left, Right, and center are stuck with one another until July 2025 — the soonest that another snap election can be called.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 5 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for enfant terrible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfant terrible
Noun
-
Figgis interviews Coppola several times, also speaking with key cast members (especially LaBeouf and a cheeky Aubrey Plaza), as well as a few long-time collaborators like George Lucas, who doesn’t expect anything less from his old friend and fellow Hollywood maverick.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Thinkers, surveyors, and religious mavericks, the House of Pynchon had settled into middle-class respectability by the time this Thomas Ruggles Pynchon was born.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As Kissinger understood, even lone rangers need friends.—
MARGARET MACMILLAN,
Foreign Affairs,
21 July 2025
-
And while his rivals have landed serious blows against him, he’s embraced the tabloid-style frenzy at each of those junctures, incorporating them into his narrative identity as an underappreciated lone ranger constantly battling the world.—
TIME,
TIME,
7 May 2024
Noun
-
These are fairly simple and widely understood forms of doping—the kind of thing a lone wolf could pull off.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside Online,
25 July 2025
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Infused into his mundane, bluesy trap music is a lone wolf spirit that comes from being an only child whose father was incarcerated for most of his childhood and whose mother worked into the night.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
Anna is a free spirit who marches to the beat of her own drum.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Ultimately, though, Kim chose to give his rose to Faith, a free spirit and fellow Washingtonian.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enfant terrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfant%20terrible. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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