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Wunderkind vs Mastermind - What's the difference?

wunderkind | mastermind |

As nouns the difference between wunderkind and mastermind

is that wunderkind is a child prodigy; a phenom while mastermind is a person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers.

As a verb mastermind is

to act in the role of mastermind.

wunderkind

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A child prodigy; a phenom.
  • A highly talented or gifted individual; one who is successful at a young age.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2009, date=January 28, author=Ravi Somaiya , title=It’s the Economy, Girlfriend, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Harriet Pappenheim, a psychotherapist at Park Avenue Relationship Consultants who wrote “For Richer or Poorer,” a 2006 book on money in marriage, said that the repercussions could be acute for Wall Street wunderkinds who define their identities through their job titles and the size of their bonuses.}}

    Usage notes

    * The etymologically-consistent plural form wunderkinder is considerably more common than the Anglicised plural form wunderkinds. Google Fight]: [http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=wunderkinder&word2=wunderkinds wunderkinder'' vs. ''wunderkinds

    Synonyms

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    References

    mastermind

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers.
  • *1840 , (Edgar Allan Poe), ‘The Colloquy of Monos and Una’:
  • *:At long intervals some master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2003 , author=Steve Kemper , title=Code Name Ginger: the Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World , chapter=2 , isbn=1578516730 , page=34 , passage=His first outside hire wasn't an electronics whiz or a mechanical mastermind , but a young industrial designer, a creature hitherto unknown at DEKA.}}
  • A person responsible for the highest level of planning and execution of a major operation.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2007 , author=Mark S. Hamm , title=Terrorism as Crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond , chapter=6 , isbn=0814736963 , page=196 , passage=The first was with none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To act in the role of mastermind.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2007 , author=Kevin Danaher et al. , title=Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots , isbn=0977825361 , page=136 , passage=It would later be revealed that the corporation contributed over a quarter of a million dollars to the effort—a whopping 93 percent of the total coffer—and hired a team of media and political experts to mastermind it.}}

    Anagrams

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