auteur
/oʊˈtɝ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.47 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A creative artist, especially a film director, seen as having a specific, recognisable artistic vision, and who is seen as the single or preeminent ‘author’ of their works.
verb
To work as an auteur.
Example Sentences
- "The libretto was a piece of hack work from a Parisian scenario factory run by an enterprising auteur of sorts named Eugene Scribe."
- "Since Mr Luhrmann first tackled the opera, he has entered the select circle of celebrity directors on the basis of only three films, including “Moulin Rouge”. And his “La Bohème”—designed by Mrs Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, a double Oscar-winner for “Moulin Rouge”—is avowedly the work of an auteur."
- "Ginette Vincendeau describes the cinéma du look as a typical example of ‘mainstream co-optation’ of ‘avant-garde, artisanal, or auteur’ cinema (1996: 14)."
- "If a widely respected auteur such as Martin Scorsese, Allen or Malick has given you the stamp of approval, you might not live fast or die young, but you'll leave a good-looking legacy."
- "As a film-maker, [Quentin] Dupieux has elicited varying responses: in the US he is often dismissed as a dilettante, whereas in France he has been acclaimed a real-deal auteur, not least in revered cinephile journal Cahiers du Cinéma, which raved about his 2007 debut feature, Steak (“leaves us slack-jawed and wide-eyed”), and devoted a whole section to his latest French release, Mandibules (2020)."
- "The cult of the auteur has weakened, as symbolised by the reconsideration of rock star Bertrand Cantat, frontman of the band Noir Désir, who was convicted in 2004 of beating his girlfriend to death."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /oʊˈtɝ/
- British English: /ɔːˈtɜː/