enfant terrible

[ahn-fahn te-ree-bl^uh]

noun

French.

plural

enfants terribles 

1. an incorrigible child, as one whose behavior is embarrassing.

2. an outrageously outspoken or bold person who says and does indiscreet or irresponsible things.

3. a person whose work, thought, or lifestyle is so unconventional or avant-garde as to appear revolutionary or shocking.

enfant terrible

/ ɑ̃fɑ̃ tɛriblə /

noun

1. a person given to unconventional conduct or indiscreet remarks

enfant terrible

1. A person who stirs things up in an irresponsible or indiscreet way or has unconventional ideas: “Doctor Hill keeps writing articles that criticize his fellow physicians; he is becoming known as the enfant terrible of his profession.” From French, meaning “terrible child.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of enfant terrible¹

First recorded in 1850–55; literally, “terrible child”

Word History and Origins

Origin of enfant terrible¹

C19: literally: terrible child

Example Sentences

A transitional film to get him out of the enfant terrible period of his earliest work, “Punch Drunk Love” remains a fulcrum point in Anderson’s career.

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The Times covered his attacks on fellow clergy, writing in 1991 that MacArthur turned into the “enfant terrible of conservative Protestantism.”

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Still peripherally engaged in the literary scene, Soon encounters an aging author named Echo, the “enfant terrible of South Korean letters,” whose novels are finally being translated into English by a small press.

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In the transition from enfant terrible to elder statesman, Mamet refashioned himself as a neocon crank, sounding off like a regular contributor to the comments section of Breitbart News.

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Throughout the Ukraine invasion, Prigozhin had occupied the role of enfant terrible, regularly lambasting Russia’s military leadership — but never Putin himself — for what he said was incompetence in prosecuting the war.

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