par excellence

[ pahr ek-suh-lahns, ek-suh-lans; French pa-rek-se-lahns ]

adjective

1. being an example of excellence; superior; preeminent (used postpositively):

   a chef par excellence.

adverb

1. above all; preeminently.

   His method stands par excellence as the most reliable of all.

par excellence

/ pɑːr ˈɛksələns; par ɛksɛlɑ̃s /

adverb

1. to a degree of excellence; beyond comparison

   she is the charitable lady par excellence

Word History and Origins

Origin of par excellence¹

From French

Word History and Origins

Origin of par excellence¹

literally: by (way of) excellence

Example Sentences

A “komitetchik par excellence,” a man of “outstanding mediocrity,” and “the grave digger of the revolution.”

From The Daily Beast

Dostum is a warlord par excellence and a classic product of Afghan politics, which is both local and volatile.

From The Daily Beast

He is the African revolutionary par excellence who continues to rage against imagined British “colonialism” every day.

From The Daily Beast

New York novelist par excellence and wine critic, Jay McInerney, will entertain with a Gatsby-esque story.

From The Daily Beast

Wall Street has long been a presumed base for Mitt Romney, the former financier-par-excellence.

From The Daily Beast

As his system is the foe of all artificial methods, it is par excellence the “Natural” System.

From Project Gutenberg

It is therefore the doyen par excellence, and its rules and orders as carried out in its early days are original and entertaining.

From Project Gutenberg

The hair-dresser is there, an artist par excellence, a sovereign authority, at once nobody and everything.

From Project Gutenberg

And why did Chopin regard Mozart as the ideal type, the poet par excellence?

From Project Gutenberg

He is par excellence the painter of Intimitt (intimate life); which is not the same as a genre painter.

From Project Gutenberg