I am a non-native speaker in need of a term to describe a strikingly smart person. That is, one who is extraordinary intelligent or has amazing abilities or qualities. I know that a prodigy is used as a noun to describe such persons and, during research, found:
prodigious
The definition, as given by oxforddictionaries.com, however, makes me unsure that 'prodigious' suits my needs:
Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree:
How would a native speaker perceive the usage of prodigious in a context that implies that a character being described is of such strikingly smart nature, and are there any alternatives?
Please note that I know, for example, the term ingenious but would like to use something even more powerful to describe the utter outstanding nature of the character, if possible.
Best Answer
Prodigious would definitely not be understood in the way you would be meaning it if you apply it to a person directly, like
However, you could certainly use it to describe their intelligence, like so:
If you simply want to say that someone is remarkably intelligent, I might recommend sticking with genius:
While this is not an adjective, you could certainly use it descriptively, as in "He is a true genius".