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Synonyms

boy wonder

American  

noun

  1. a young man whose skills or accomplishments are precocious.


Etymology

Origin of boy wonder

1960–65; perhaps fashioned on German Wunderkind

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Guscott was the laidback boy wonder of that brilliant England team, captained by Will Carling.

From BBC May 17, 2026

But the longtime southeast Los Angeles County politician still looked every part the civic boy wonder when I met him on a recent morning in his hometown of South Gate.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 27, 2023

But seriously: Crypto boy wonder Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange firm, FTX, was linked to several players in the digital-asset economy, including the California financial institution Silvergate—which was the most-crypto-involved “traditional” bank in the U.S.

From Slate Mar. 13, 2023

Hu Chunhua is known as a boy wonder who ranked first in China’s national university entrance examinations and became the youngest person to hold several official posts.

From Seattle Times Oct. 19, 2022

The former boy wonder was now a seasoned and slightly cynical leader of the city he’d called home his entire life.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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