masterwork
/ˈmɑːstəwɜːk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmæstərwɜːrk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈma-stər-ˌwərk/ (ame, mw)
masterwork — noun
1. An artist's, writer's, or composer's finest creation — the one painting, novel,
An artist's, writer's, or composer's finest creation — the one painting, novel, film, or piece of music that shows their highest level of craft.
Most critics still call Tolstoy's War and Peace the great novelist's masterwork.
[creator]'s masterwork — naming the finest work in a body of art
The Sistine Chapel ceiling is widely seen as Michelangelo's masterwork in painting.
a masterwork in [art form]
Felipe spent twenty years carving the wooden altar that became his quiet masterwork.
The director hopes that her next film, set in postwar Hanoi, will be her masterwork.
After his death, Hiro's late string quartet was finally recognised as his masterwork.
- masterpiece
more common; can mean any single excellent work, not only the career-best one
- magnum opus
Latin term; stresses scale and lifetime importance, often used of long books or compositions
- chef-d'oeuvre
literary French loanword; same idea as masterwork but feels more bookish
- potboiler
a quickly made work done mainly for money, not artistic ambition
文法句型
the masterwork of [creator]
[creator]'s masterwork
a masterwork of [art form]
用法筆記
Singular and definite by nature — a creator usually has only one masterwork. Frequently appears with a possessive (`his masterwork`, `the composer's masterwork`) rather than indefinite article. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense always refers to a specific artistic or creative output.
常見錯誤
2. Something done so well that it stands out as one of the best examples of its kin
Something done so well that it stands out as one of the best examples of its kind, even when it is not a piece of art.
The chef's twelve-course tasting menu was a masterwork of timing and flavour.
a masterwork of [quality]
Iris called the lawyer's closing speech a masterwork of cool, careful reasoning.
The rescue plan was a masterwork of planning that brought every climber down safely.
Tamar's wedding cake, three tiers high, was a masterwork of sugar craft.
- tour de force
stresses impressive skill or strength; common in reviews of performances or arguments
- triumph
broader; any clearly successful effort, not always involving high skill
- fiasco
a thoroughly failed attempt; informal
文法句型
a masterwork of [quality / activity]
be a masterwork of [noun]
用法筆記
Almost always in the frame `a masterwork of [X]`, where X names the skill, quality, or activity that has been done supremely well. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense praises the level of skill in an activity rather than naming an artist's lifetime best work.