Promethean

[ pruh-mee-thee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or suggestive of Prometheus.
2. creative; boldly original.

noun

1. a person who resembles Prometheus in spirit or action.

Promethean

/ prəˈmiːθɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Prometheus
2. creative, original, or life-enhancing

noun

1. a person who resembles Prometheus

Word History and Origins

Origin of Promethean¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; Promethe(us) + -an

Example Sentences

Perhaps the most influential European of all — at least to Americans in permanently arrested adolescence — was the Russian immigrant, Hollywood screenwriter, novelist and cult leader Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, better known as her Promethean alter ego, Ayn Rand.

From Salon

His company, Promethean AI offers developers a set of tools to craft their own virtual worlds.

From BBC

“It’s kind of our Promethean moment.”

From New York Times

In countless Hollywood remakes and in Mary Shelly's original book, Victor Frankenstein is sometimes read as someone who has engaged in Promethean overreach and other times as someone who loses control because he neglects to nurture his creation.

From Salon

A little over a year ago, as Mr. Hoffman saw the progress OpenAI was making on its GPT-3 language model, he had another Promethean moment.

From New York Times