Meaning & use
prestigious
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableapproving
Having a high reputation that makes other people respect and admire it, as with a famous school, prize or job.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or after be: a prestigious award, the award is prestigious.
Patterns
- a prestigious award
- a prestigious university
She won a prestigious prize for her first novel.
He was accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in the country.
Working for such a prestigious firm will help your career.
Word forms
| comparative | more prestigious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most prestigious |
Common combinations
- prestigious award
- The scientist received a prestigious award for her research.
- prestigious university
- Her parents hoped she would attend a prestigious university.
- prestigious job
- It is a prestigious job, though the pay is modest.
- highly prestigious
- The scholarship is highly prestigious.
- prestigious post
- He was offered a prestigious post at the embassy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- esteemed
- Esteemed is more formal and often describes a person or a group, while prestigious usually describes a place or prize.
- renowned
- Renowned means widely known for something, with less sense of social rank than prestigious.
- distinguished
- Distinguished describes a person with an impressive record, whereas prestigious describes an honor or institution.
- elite
- Elite points to a small, select group, while prestigious focuses on the respect it earns.
Opposites
Word family
- prestige noun
- the respect and admiration a person or organization has earned
- prestigiously adverb
- in a way that carries high reputation
- prestigiousness noun
- the quality of being prestigious
Commonly confused: prestigious or prestigeous?
prestigious vs prestigeous
This spelling is a common mistake; the correct word is prestigious, with no e before ous.
Practice
The Nobel Prize is one of the most ___ awards in the world.
Choose one answer.
Prestigious means highly respected. Pretentious means showing off, precious means valuable, and prodigious means huge, so none fit as well.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prestigious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.