savant

American  

[sa-vahnt, sav-uhnt, sa-vahn] / sæˈvɑnt, ˈsæv ənt, saˈvɑ̃ /

noun

plural

savants

1. a person of profound or extensive learning; learned scholar.

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savant British  

/ ˈsævənt, savɑ̃ /

noun

1. a man of great learning; sage

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Other Word Forms

• savante
  noun

Etymology

Origin of savant

1710–20; < French: man of learning, scholar, old present participle of savoir to know ≪ Latin sapere to be wise; see sapient

Explanation

You know that girl in your school with a 4.0 GPA? She is a savant in the making. A savant is someone over-the-top smart, a scholar. It might take a savant only five minutes to do an entire math test. Savant is the French word for "learned" and it goes back to the Latin word sapere, "to be wise." In English, a savant can be someone is who is wise and learned in general, or someone who is extremely skilled in a particular area, like your little brother who can rattle off the first three hundred digits of pi.

Example Sentences

Some retirees pair QCDs with Roth conversions in lower‑income years, says Savant Wealth Management, which has offices nationwide.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 18, 2025

Chastain, who won an Oscar for her role as a televangelist in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, plays a suburban mom known as the titular Savant in the series.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025

US actress Jessica Chastain has said she is "not aligned" with the decision by AppleTV+ to pause the release of her upcoming streaming series The Savant.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025

As Savant Young carefully wipes down his charcoal gray 1973 Mazda RX-3 inside the Vintage Japanese Motor Union clubhouse, he pauses to apologize for being so focused on his car.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2025

And this column was written by Marilyn vos Savant and in the magazine it said that she had the highest IQ in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records Hall of Fame.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon