Prestige Meaning
/pɹɛsˈtiːd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe quality of how good the reputation of something or someone is, how favourably something or someone is regarded.
nounDelusion; illusion; trick.
Sentence Examples
The problem affects the prestige of our school.
Several universities in this country enjoy great prestige.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the famous university attracted students from around the world.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the award brought considerable ____ to the university's research department.
Word Origin & History
From French prestige (“illusion, fascination, enchantment, prestige”), from Latin praestīgium (“a delusion, an illusion”). Despite the phonetic similarities and the old meaning of “delusion, illusion, trick”, the word has a different root than prestidigitator (“conjurer”) and prestidigitation.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But in such an instance a false belief will appear with all the prestige of the latest scientific knowledge supporting it."
— 1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, page 425:
"That faith which, we are told, was founded on a rock, impregnable to the assaults of men and demons; to the sophisms of infidelity, and the prestiges of imposture!"
— 1811, William Warburton, edited by Richard Hurd, The works of the Right Reverend William Warburton, D.D., Lord Bishop of Gloucester, volume the ninth, London: Luke Hansard & Sons, →OCLC, page 121:
"Rather than relying on the genre-standard “prestige,” the act of resetting your progress to earn a larger modifier on your next attempt, SPACEPLAN resets its progress by sending you to a new planet so that it can both reset your progress and advance the narrative. […] Prestige can sometimes feel like a defeat; “I guess I’ve made it as far as I can, I’ll have to start over.”"
— 2017 May 19, Jim Squires, “SPACEPLAN Review: Of Satellites and Potatoes”, in Gamezebo, Walnut Creek, Calif.: iWin, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2022:
"When Season 1 starts, so does prestige for anyone who has reached level 55."
— 2023 November 15, Ford James, “How to prestige in Modern Warfare 3”, in GamesRadar+, London: Future plc, archived from the original on 15 Nov 2023:
"There's new Omnimovement, changes to progression and prestige, the option to share your best weapon builds."
— 2025 August 27, Danielle Rose, “Call of Duty Black Ops 7 release date, trailers, story, and latest news”, in PCGamesN, Bath, Somerset: NetworkN, archived from the original on 22 Sep 2025:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the famous university attracted students from around the world.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the award brought considerable ____ to the university's research department.