If your teacher says the term paper you handed in last week is a work of genius that sets a new gold standard for the school, he's telling you your work is the apotheosis of term papers. The epitome. Perfection.

Pronunciation: /ə,pɑθɪ'osɪs/
English description: model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
Synonyms: ideal
Chinese Translation: 典范(dian3 fan4)
Spanish Translation: apoteosis
ORIGIN: Hidden in the middle of apotheosis you'll find the Greek theos, meaning god. (Theology, the study of religion, has the same root.) Combine theos with apo "from" and you get a person, place, or thing that is so out-of-this-world amazing that it seems as if it's "from God." It's divine. You could make the assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was the apotheosis of genius and that the Mona Lisa is the apotheosis of all his paintings.

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

The apotheosis of the athleisure trend that hijacked fashion this year, the designer sneaker reached new heights with chic high tops and lofty prices.
Professional ice hockey is the apotheosis of cultural sclerosis: It refuses to change, so nobody cares about it.

*New word description, story and part of "EXAMPLE SENTENCE" are cited in Vocabulary