Laureate
n.capable, joyfulformal
What it means
A person formally honored for outstanding work in a field.
Reach for it when referring to the holder of a distinguished prize or honorary title
The youth orchestra invited a local arts laureate to lead its workshop.
Choose between these
6- playful
victory in a contest is being celebrated
not when Champion is misleading for a juried cultural honor.
- everyday
award winner
clarity matters more than ceremonial status
not when Award winner covers minor contests as well as major distinctions.
- professional
someone has been selected for public recognition
not when An honoree may receive thanks without winning for achievement.
- professional
recipient
the sentence already names the award
not when Recipient alone says nothing about merit or prestige.
- formal
winning a named competitive prize is the exact fact
not when Prizewinner misses laureate's association with high distinction or an ongoing role.
- literary
established influence in the field matters most
not when A luminary need not hold any formal award.
Said against
3- nominee
- entrant
- unknown
It naturally appears in
3- Nobel laureate
The Nobel laureate answered questions from early-career chemists.
- poet laureate
The poet laureate visited every rural library in the district.
- distinguished laureate
A distinguished laureate presented the academy's closing lecture.
Where this comes from
- merriam-webster, noun sense 1 opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.