designer
designer Lexical Profile
designer Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person who plans the form, look, or workings of an object, garment, building, or system prior to its creation.
"The graphic designer presented three distinct logo concepts to the marketing team."
A person who devises plots or intrigues; a schemer.
"Historically, the term was sometimes applied to a cunning designer of political schemes."
• adjective
Made by or bearing the label of a famous or prestigious fashion creator; expensive, stylish, and high-end.
"He spent much of his bonus on a pair of designer sunglasses and a tailored suit."
Artificially modified, synthesized, or selectively bred to possess specific desired traits or chemical properties.
"Bioethicists have raised serious concerns about the long-term implications of gene editing and designer babies."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'designer' is used strictly attributively (placed directly before the noun it modifies, as in 'designer clothes' or 'designer drugs') rather than predicatively.
• Rhymes for designer
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English in the 17th century from the verb 'design' plus the agentive suffix '-er'; 'design' traces back through Middle French to Latin 'designare', meaning 'to mark out or devise', from 'de-' (out) and 'signum' (a mark or sign). The attributive sense referring to prestigious fashion labels emerged in the mid-20th century.