magnum opus

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noun

a great work, especially the chief work of a writer or artist: Proust's magnum opus is Remembrance of Things Past.

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Origin of magnum opus

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1785–95

Words nearby magnum opus

magnolia warbler, magnoliid, magnox, magnox reactor, magnum, magnum opus, Magnus Annus, Magnus effect, Magnus hitch, Magog, magot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use magnum opus in a sentence

When Ludwig von Beethoven died in 1827, he was three years removed from the completion of his Ninth Symphony, a work heralded by many as his magnum opus.
An AI finished Beethoven’s final symphony. But is it good?|Ahmed Elgammal/The Conversation|September 26, 2021|Popular-Science
Paris Magnum: Exhibition runs from December 12, 2014-March 28, 2015.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Magnum came into being as a cooperative only two years after the conclusion of World War II.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Overall, Paris Magnum reaches both too widely and too thinly in trying to convey a sense of spectrum.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Magnum is an entrusted brand, with an irrefutably global reach.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Catalogue, published by Flammarion (2014), includes photographs from the Magnum Photos archives and text by Éric Hazan.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He regarded his organ in St. Paul's Cathedral (rebuilt in 1899), as his magnum opus.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Timor, luctus, gaudium magnum, et aversio hanc impotentiam psychicam efficiunt.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
A wall so faced looked as if covered with a net (B in Fig. 59) and was therefore called opus rticultum.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
To behold “Diana unveiled” was equivalent in alchemical terminology to attaining the magnum opus.
Devil-Worship in France|Arthur Edward Waite
The works that bear a higher opus number than 65 were published after the composer's death by Fontana.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks

British Dictionary definitions for magnum opus

magnum opus

noun

a great work of art or literature, esp the greatest single work of an artist

Word Origin for magnum opus

Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for magnum opus

magnum opus

[ (mag-nuhm oh-puhs) ]

The most important work in a person's career, especially in literature, art, or scholarship: “Moby Dick was Melville's magnum opus.” From Latin, meaning “great work.”

magnum opus

Origin of magnum opus

Words nearby magnum opus

Words related to magnum opus

How to use magnum opus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for magnum opus

Word Origin for magnum opus

Cultural definitions for magnum opus