Savant

//sæˈvɑnt// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person of learning, especially one who is versed in literature or science.
  2. 2
    someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field wordnet
  3. 3
    A person who is considered eminent because of their achievements.
  4. 4
    A person with or without significant mental disabilities who is very gifted in one area of activity, such as playing the piano or mental arithmetic.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
expertgeniusacademicianadeptadmirable crichtonaficionado

Example

More examples

"The term "autistic savant" is used to describe a person who is autistic and is extremely talented in one or more specialized fields."

Etymology

Borrowed from French savant, from Latin sapiō. Doublet of sapient. Sense 3 is a clipping of idiot savant, literally ‘wise idiot’.

Related phrases

autistic savantidiot savantsavant syndromegifted personone specialtysmart idiot

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.