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masterpiece Definition

master·piece (mas′tər pēs′)

noun

  1. a thing made or done with masterly skill; great work of art or craftsmanship
  2. the greatest work made or done by a person or group

Etymology: calque of Ger meisterstück

masterpiece Synonyms

masterpiece

n.

masterwork, magnum opus (Latin), chef d'oeuvre, coup de maître, pièce de résistance (all French), classic, work of art, prize, gem, jewel, showpiece, treasure.

masterpiece Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • understatement: He says, in a masterpiece of understatement: " I have some misgivings ( !
  • architecture: A visit to Blenheim is not complete without stepping inside the unique Palace, a masterpiece of architecture.
  • cinema: Guest's credits appeared on eight Hay films, among them a comic masterpiece of the British cinema, Oh, Mr Porter!
  • engineering: From the technical point of view it was a masterpiece of engineering.
  • literature: It produced many of the masterpieces of Egyptian literature, along with a wide range of documentary records.
  • fiction: Laura Hird's Born Free is a masterpiece of contemporary urban fiction.

Converse of object

  • overlook: But what if these overlooked masterpieces were playing at your local picture house, in pristine prints with beguiling new advertising?
  • create: Players can remake the films they love or create an all-new masterpiece.
  • forget: These allowed him space to hold forth about his favorite topics - the Kray twins, forgotten pulp masterpieces, pit-bull terriers.

Adjective modifier

  • operatic: He had an immense knowledge and understanding of the repertoire, his favorites being the Russian operatic masterpieces.
  • cinematic: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is a cinematic masterpiece.
  • architectural: The present Abbey is an architectural masterpiece of medieval times, built from around the 12th Century to the end of the 16th Century.
  • acknowledged: It is one of the acknowledged masterpieces of world literature and ought to be known to any graduate claiming an acquaintance with German culture.
  • undisputed: Your kitty could be used to sample the undisputed masterpieces of these designers.
  • culinary: Now you can create your own culinary masterpiece without the hassle.

Noun used with modifier

  • baroque: DI Michael joined a ceremonial procession through the grand squares of Sir Christopher Wren's baroque masterpiece on the banks of the Thames.
  • ****: Down With Love ( Peyton Reed, 2003)- **** masterpiece 33.
  • epic: This is the subject of Tolkien's epic masterpiece Lord of the Rings.
  • pop: My Dark Life and The Bridge I Burned are both miniature pop masterpieces at opposite extremes of Costello's musical approach.
  • soul: This album was produced by the legendary Clarence Reid, who turned out, in this case, a soul masterpiece.
masterpiece Quotes

You have disgraced yourselves again.Youarerocking the cradle of a new masterpiece.

—Yeats,W(illiam) B(utler)

No one ever complains if a great artist says that he was driven to create a masterpiece by a hunger for recognition and money.But a scientist? Well, he ismeant to be disinterested, pure, his ambition merely to descry the cement of the universe. He isn't meant to use it to start laying his own patio.

—Self,Will

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.

—Emerson, RalphWaldo

The more books we read, the sooner we perceive that the only function of a writer isto producea masterpiece. No other task is of any consequence.

—Connolly, Cyril Vernon

Nostre grand et glorieux chef-d'½uvre, c'est vivre a' propos. The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live to purpose.

—Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de

And no one knows, at first sight, a masterpiece. And give up verse, my boy. There's nothing in it.

—Pound, Ezra Loomis

In sculpture, did ever anybody call the Apollo a fancy piece? Or say of the Laocoo«  n how it might be made different? A masterpiece of art has in the mind a fixed place in the chain of being, as much as a plant or a crystal.

—Emerson, RalphWaldo

Nature's great masterpiece, an Elephant.

—Donne,John

We sing the love of danger.Courage, rashness, and rebellion are the elements of our poetry. Hitherto literature has tended to exalt thoughtful immobility, ecstasy, and sleep, whereas we are for aggressive movement, febrile insomnia, mortal leaps, and blows with the fist.We proclaim that the world is richer for a new beautyof speed, and our praise isfor themanat the wheel. There is no beauty now save in struggle, no masterpiece can be anything but aggressive, and hence we glorify war, militarism and patriotism.

—Marinetti, Emilio FilippoTomasso

Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure unfinished masterpiece.

—Nabokov,Vladimir