magnum opus
a great work, especially the chief work of a writer or artist: Proust's magnum opus is Remembrance of Things Past.
Origin of magnum opus
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use magnum opus in a sentence
There was the dorm-room cult classic Fight Club and the endlessly quotable Mike Judge magnum opus Office Space.
Complaining Like It’s 1999: ‘Fight Club,’ ‘American Beauty,’ and the Revolt of the Cubicle Drone | Arthur Chu | June 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor years, it was her dream to create an illustrated “magnum opus” that addressed shortcomings in American sex education.
‘Oh Joy Sex Toy’: The Internet’s Most Radical Sex-Fueled Comic Strip | Rich Goldstein | May 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSun will shine through many openings of the “Luminous Caves,” which he refers to as his magnum opus and his final excavation.
Out of your many books, what do you consider your magnum opus?
A Prominent Jesuit Talks About the Order’s First Pope | Abby Haglage | March 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTJoel McCrea gives a delightful performance as a director determined to make his magnum opus, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
'The Artist,' 'Hugo,' and the History of Movies About Movies | Stephen Farber | December 28, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
He regarded his organ in St. Paul's Cathedral (rebuilt in 1899), as his magnum opus.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerTo behold “Diana unveiled” was equivalent in alchemical terminology to attaining the magnum opus.
Devil-Worship in France | Arthur Edward WaiteBut all these activities and productions were more or less side issues, or preparations for a magnum opus, or rather magna opera.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikThis is the first publication of Alphonse Louis Constant on occult philosophy, and it is also his magnum opus.
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot | L. W. de LaurenceThen, two minutes later, I rose, and commenced my magnum opus of oratory.
British Dictionary definitions for magnum opus
a great work of art or literature, esp the greatest single work of an artist
Origin of magnum opus
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for magnum opus
[ (mag-nuhm oh-puhs) ]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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