telegenic
adjective
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The History of Telegenic
Telegenic debuted in the 1930s, a melding of television with photogenic, “suitable for being photographed especially because of visual appeal.” The word photogenic had other, more technical meanings before it developed that one in the early decades of the 20th century, but the modern meaning led to the use of -genic of interest here: “suitable for production or reproduction by a given medium.” (That sense is also found in the rarer videogenic, a synonym of telegenic.) Telegenic may seem like a word that would primarily be used to describe people, but there is evidence of telegenic describing events (such as popular sports), objects, and responses. Occasionally, one even sees reference to a telegenic attitude, presence, charisma, or other intangible.
Examples of telegenic in a Sentence
The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
The more telegenic Vance demonstrated his considerable media experience with his smooth delivery and unruffled manner.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Egypt’s telegenic uprising, like Tunisia’s, illustrated the potential of nonviolent resistance.
—Erica Chenoweth, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014
The telegenic Kennedy, just 43 at the time, wore makeup and projected youthfulness and vigor to the TV audience.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for telegenic 
Dictionary Entries Near telegenic
Cite this Entry
“Telegenic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telegenic. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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