''virtuoso'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''virtuoso'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260227140228-00-⌔

virtuoso - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

virtuoso (plural virtuosos or virtuosi)

• (now historical) An expert in virtù or art objects and antiquities; a connoisseur. [from 17th c.]
  • ✤ For, besides the extraordinary Neatness of the Room, it was adorned with a great Number of Nicknacks, and Curiosities, which might have engaged the Attention of a Virtuoso.¹
• Someone with special skill or knowledge; an expert. [from 17th c.]
  • ✤ The prefect who officiated on this occasion was a “tolley” virtuoso, and he did his best to bring out the resources of his instrument.²
  • ✤ Facial surgeons are now virtuosi.³
• Specifically, a musician (or other performer) with masterly ability, technique, or personal style. [from 18th c.]

Adjective

virtuoso (comparative more virtuoso, superlative most virtuoso)

• Exhibiting the ability of a virtuoso.
  • ✤ On Friday, the Thai police said he was under arrest and charged as a pedophile after computer experts had unswirled the digitally altered face in a virtuoso act of electronic decoding.⁴
  • ✤ Instead, he was able to sit alongside De Bruyne on the City bench admiring a virtuoso performance from Foden, pulling every string in the number 10 role and illustrating again why he is so important to Guardiola, and why he simply must start for Gareth Southgate’s England at Euro 2024.⁵

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian virtuoso, from Late Latin virtuōsus (“virtuous”), from Latin virtus (“excellence”). Doublet of virtuous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌvɜ.tʃuˈəʊ.səʊ/
• Audio (Southern England): 🔊
• (US) IPA: /ˌvɝ.t͡ʃuˈoʊ.soʊ/
• Audio (General American): 🔊
• Hyphenation: vir‧tu‧o‧so

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

1. 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 10, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VIII, page 224: ↩

2. 1907, The Messenger, page 147: ↩

3. 2025 October 11, Jo Ellison, “The forever 35 face of fashion”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 23: ↩

4. 2007 October 20, Seth Mydans, “Thai Police Arrest Pedophile Suspect”, in The New York Times ‎${}^{[1]}$, archived from the original on 9 November 2020: ↩

5. 2024 April 3, Phil McNulty, “Man City 4-1 Aston Villa: Phil Foden produces ‘masterclass’ to show worth again”, in BBC Sport ‎${}^{[2]}$: ↩

Link to original

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