Wunderkind

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(pronounced voon-dur-kint or wun-dur-kind, with "oo" pronounced as in "book" and not as in "boot") noun

Definition

1. a child prodigy. 2. a person who achieves great success or renown, especially in a very competitive field, at a relatively early age.

Main Example

• Several young players, who were nobodies until just a couple of years ago, have suddenly taken the tennis world by storm and, not surprisingly, each of them is being hailed as "the new tennis wunderkind." Among them: Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, Casper Rudd, and Iga Swiatek.

Workplace Examples

• Oh, you didn't know that Mike is a senior VP? Well, he's so young--not even 28--that he looks more like a college intern. He and Kathy are our company's two wunderkinds, both being at least 15 years younger than anyone else on the senior management team.

• Both my dad and his sister achieved great national fame in their respective fields, yet at opposite ends of their life spans. My dad was a sort of wunderkind, who--like an Orson Welles--made his life's biggest accomplishment when he was barely 25. My aunt, on the other hand, was well into her 70s when she became famous.

Other Examples

• this author saying: "Time was when the word wunderkind was used as a descriptor only for people. But, in recent years, it's being used for things as well. For instance, in a March '08 'ABC News' article titled 'You feel what you eat,' Radha Chitale wrote that eating salmon and other oily fish like mackerel and sardines, already known for their heart-healthy qualities, also boosts your mood and thus brings a smile to your face. The omega-3 fatty acids that these fish are rich in are 'the latest wunderkind of the mood world,' she wrote. And lately, I've also come across words such as 'Oh, that is a wunderkind product' for something that is sensational and flying off the shelves."
• the unusually generous dose of Mozart that was served at symphony orchestra concerts in 2006, as the world celebrated the 250th birth anniversary of this musical wunderkind who began composing at the age of four and became a public performer just two years later
• the legendary Peter Lynch, whose stunning record at Fidelity Magellan in the 1970s and 80s made him the unquestioned wunderkind in the community of mutual fund managers
• 46-year-old Tiger Woods, the former World No.1 golfer and the youngest player to achieve the "Career Grand Slam," who is now well past his wunderkind phase

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