as in genius
formal
someone who knows a lot about many different things
She is rightly regarded as something of a polymath in her extensive knowledge of all the earth sciences.
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Dissimilar Words
variants
or polymathic
as in erudite
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of polymath
Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
From science fairs to college labs For someone whose work could transform medicine, Liu, 52, is understated — an introverted polymath driven by curiosity.
—Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2026
Famous failures include Roger Moore, the suavest James Bond, and Stephen Fry, Britain’s most famous polymath.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Joseph, who designs educational games and co-founded the Games for Change Festival, is a polymath himself.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for polymath
Noun
In striving to be both a character study of a dissatisfied sommelier and a picaresque tale of ambition in São Paulo’s gentrified districts, director Gabe Klinger fails to land the emotional reality of his eponymous lead character, Isabel (the film‘s co-writer and Brazilian polymath, Marina Person).
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
From science fairs to college labs For someone whose work could transform medicine, Liu, 52, is understated — an introverted polymath driven by curiosity.
—Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2026
Famous failures include Roger Moore, the suavest James Bond, and Stephen Fry, Britain’s most famous polymath.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Joseph, who designs educational games and co-founded the Games for Change Festival, is a polymath himself.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for polymath
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polymath
Noun
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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
-
Her recent work on designing a brand identity for her own Photography practice is a perfect example of her genius across disciplines.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The dazzlingly witty and erudite script, by Robert Kaplow, is nominated for Best Original Screenplay; Hawke, who is rightly nominated for Best Actor, delivers one of his richest and most surprising performances.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
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Enrigue is an erudite, charismatic raconteur—the sort who will tell you the most abject story with a wink—and his novel distills a byzantine swirl of historical events through the lives of a handful of very colorful characters.—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The popular hits will be performed by a 20-piece orchestra, with arrangements written by Juilliard cello virtuoso Dave Eggar and conductor Chuck Palmer.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
But this is why, like any virtuoso, there is an undeniable continuity of his work.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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With the help of her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan), boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich), and cine-literate nerds Randy (Jamie Kennedy) and Stu (Matthew Lillard), Sidney sets out to determine who’s behind the mask.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
-
My grandmother, who was the only literate one in our family, would write strange musings.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In this movie, Sophie meets a powerful wizard named Howl, who lives in a magical moving castle.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Radcliffe played the titular wizard Harry Potter in the beloved franchise, while Felton portrayed Potter's nemesis Draco Malfoy.—
Yi-Jin Yu,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Leslie Hairston, a former City Council colleague of Preckwinkle’s whose South Side ward abutted hers, said Preckwinkle’s scholarly disposition shouldn’t be mistaken for indifference.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
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Specifically, the study found the PATM patients emitted more petrochemicals, organosulfur compounds, and some aldehydes (including 39 times the normal amount of toluene, a chemical found in crude oil), among other distinctions—findings published in the scholarly journal Scientific Reports in 2023.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Both are analytical tennis thinkers.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Turner assembles a kaleidoscope of archival footage, performance clips, still photography, and interviews with his Arkestra members and contemporary thinkers who map Sun Ra’s long cultural afterlife.—
Lisa Wong Macabasco,
Vogue,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Campaigns are not academic exercises.—
Matt Klink,
Oc Register,
17 Mar. 2026
-
What started as an academic experiment eventually developed into an advanced robotic system capable of achieving a world record.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Polymath.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polymath. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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