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mastermind. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
mastermind, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
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English
Etymology
From master + mind.
Pronunciation
Noun
mastermind (plural masterminds)
- 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.
2003, Steve Kemper, chapter 2, in Code Name Ginger: the Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World, →ISBN, page 34: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.
2007, Mark S. Hamm, chapter 6, in Terrorism as Crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond, →ISBN, page 196:The first was with none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
Descendants
Translations
person responsible for a major operation
Verb
mastermind (third-person singular simple present masterminds, present participle masterminding, simple past and past participle masterminded)
- To act in the role of mastermind.
2007, Kevin Danaher et al., Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots, →ISBN, page 136: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.
2020 July 1, David Allen, “Signalling from Leeds along the S&C”, in Rail, page 78:Travelling over the route today, it is well to remember the ongoing role of the Friends of the S&C and the work of the late Ron Cotton. He masterminded its revival, thereby reversing the role he had been given by BR to bring about its closure.
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