prima donna

[pree-muh don-uh, prim-uh, pree-mah dawn-nah]

noun

plural

prima donnas ,

plural

prime donne .

1. a first or principal female singer of an opera company.

2. a temperamental person; a person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience.

prima donna

/ ˈpriːmə ˈdɒnə /

noun

1. a female operatic star; diva

2. informal,  a temperamental person

prima donna

1. A vain and overly sensitive person who is temperamental and difficult to work with: “That Jenkins girl is a good gymnast, but she certainly is a prima donna.” In opera, the prima donna is the principal female soloist. From Italian, meaning “first lady.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of prima donna¹

First recorded in 1760–70; from Italian: literally, “first lady”; prime, duenna

Word History and Origins

Origin of prima donna¹

C19: from Italian: first lady

Example Sentences

The Lakers are not the prima donnas they used to be and the Clippers are not the stepchild they used to be.

From Los Angeles Times

I look around the rest of the squad and think they are over-paid prima donnas, the lot of them.

From BBC

But Knight, Larraín, and Jolie are all careful to avoid reducing Callas to an over-the-top ableist stereotype or portraying her as the ruthless prima donna tigress the media painted her as.

From Salon

Celebrities acting like prima donnas toward restaurant personnel isn’t anything new.

From Los Angeles Times

Conservative commentator Piers Morgan wrote: “It’s hard to imagine an American sporting team that’s made the country feel less proud than this bunch of ‘activist’ prima donnas.”

From Washington Times

Related Words

• crybaby 

When To Use

What does prima donna mean?

The literal meaning of prima donna is the lead or main female singer in an opera company. Prima donna is commonly used as a negative term for a person who’s extremely self-centered and temperamental.In this sense, a prima donna expects and demands constant praise and special treatment and is easily irritated when they don’t get it. Though the literal sense of prima donna refers only to women, its figurative sense can be applied to anyone. The plural of prima donna is prima donnas (though the plural of the Italian phrase is prime donne).Example: After the director had a fight with his lead actor, he accused him of being a selfish prima donna who was impossible to work with.