enfant terrible
Pluralenfants terribles
- 1A person who acts in wild, unusual ways and shocks or embarrasses other people.
My cousin is the enfant terrible of our family and always says rude things at parties.
The singer became the enfant terrible of the school after he set off the fire alarm during a concert.
Similarmaverick, rebel, provocateur, troublemaker
Note
- 2A very successful person who does things in a new, bold and surprising way.
The young designer is the enfant terrible of fashion, and her strange clothes sell out fast.
He was the enfant terrible of the music world, and every bold new album was a hit.
Similarmaverick, iconoclast, wunderkind
Note
- 3A wild child who is very hard to control.
The rich family's youngest son was an enfant terrible who ran wild and broke things.
At the party, the little enfant terrible threw cake at all the other kids.
Note
Practice
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Origin
Taken directly from French, where it means "terrible child".