wunderkind

[voon-der-kind, wuhn-, voon-duhr-kint]

noun

plural

wunderkinds ,

plural

wunderkinder .

1. a wonder child or child prodigy.

2. a person who succeeds, especially in business, at a comparatively early age.

wunderkind

/ ˈwʌndəˌkɪnd, ˈvʊndərˌkɪnt /

noun

1. a child prodigy

2. a person who is exceptionally successful in his field while still young

Word History and Origins

Origin of wunderkind¹

1890–95; < German, equivalent to Wunder wonder + Kind child

Word History and Origins

Origin of wunderkind¹

C20: German, literally: wonder child

Example Sentences

“But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful to her.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Once viewed as a wunderkind from the beginning of baseball’s data revolution—he was the loose basis of Jonah Hill’s character in the “Moneyball” movie—DePodesta abandoned the sport nearly a decade ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Even the president's onetime wunderkind former prime minister Gabriel Attal is keeping his distance.

Read more on BBC

When he made his 1975 blockbuster “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg was just 26 — a wunderkind director taking on a killer-shark thriller that nearly sank his budding career before launching him into Hollywood history.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Once an up-and-coming baseball wunderkind, Hank is now content watching his beloved San Francisco Giants play from across the country while he makes a modest name for himself among the bar patrons.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• genius 
• sensation 
• whiz 
• wizard