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

An Alabama-born engineer seen as a supply-chain savant, Tim Cook took on the daunting challenge of succeeding Apple's iconic boss Steve Jobs 15 years ago.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

Young Jim showed an early gift for mathematics that bordered on savant territory.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 15, 2025

Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bob Gale, must have been as much of a madman savant as Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown to compress so much plot into every frame.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

Peters is known as a product guru skilled at interpreting data, while Hollywood czar Sarandos is seen as a programming savant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 1, 2025

I’ve thought of myself as a genius, a savant, and a freak, but never an orphan.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty