magnum opus
4
8.3
- noun
- /ˈmæɡnəm ˈoʊpəs/
- Formal
:
obra maestra
- Ayn Rand's magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, explores her philosophical ideals.
That thing is a magnum opus of productivity.
- That thing is a magnum opus of productivity.
- At stake in Morrison's exploration of race in A Mercy is her attempt to do with race what she did with slavery in her magnum opus, Beloved.
- So, so, yeah, you just never, but you never know what somebody's, you know, what their what's their magnum opus?
Examples
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And of course, in the past months, Mr. Molyneux has been talking about his latest magnum opus, Curiosity.
Blog text (2) -
Approaching seventy, Noah published Freifeld's Fiasco, a work clearly meant to be his magnum opus on old age and death.
Fiction book (1990) -
What I hope will be my almost magnum opus, Middle European Supernatural Phenomenon in New England.
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And what do you deduce from this magnum opus?
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Only a few months earlier, Rorschach had also published his magnum opus.
Academic text (2017) -
The title he had given us earlier was really only the subtitle of his magnum opus.
Fiction book (1990) -
On the side, he played in a band and labored over his magnum opus:
Blog text (5) -
His self-proclaimed magnum opus, Answered Prayers, was incomplete when he died in 1984.
Academic text (2016) -
Andy Stanley's magnum opus is Deep and Wide: Creating Churches for Unchurched People.
Blog text (17) -
Theodor Herzl, one of Zionism's founding thinkers, wrote a magnum opus called Der Judenstaat.
Academic text (1999)
Synonyms
156
3.8
A very good painting, book, or performance that shows a person's best work
8
5.4
A very great work of art, music, or writing by a skilled person
1
9.9
A very great work of art like a painting or novel that shows great skill
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
magnum + opus
If a learner knows 'magnum' (great) and 'opus' (a work), the meaning 'great work' — i.e. the single most important or outstanding work by an artist — is directly derivable from the parts. The phrase is a transparent Latin-derived compound used cross-linguistically or as a loan, so its sense is compositional and predictable to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Magnum opus comes from two Latin words, magnum and opus, which mean 'great' and 'work'. So the phrase paints the image of a single 'great' work by an artist, and that's why we use it for someone's most important work.