gifted meaning: definition, quotations

gifted

adj

/ˈɡɪftɪd/

Endowed with special, in particular intellectual, abilities.

1 more example

For argument’s sake, though, being “gifted” in a general sense can be described as possessing an intellect that processes information faster, learns concepts quicker and retains knowledge more readily than most, allowing it to exponentially explore ever more complex ideas and to make increasingly insightful connections. “They learn rapidly, they have an excellent memory and they reason well. These are the sorts of characteristics I’d note,” says Judy Parker, who has spent much of her career testing for giftedness.2023 November 3, Angus Holland, “‘I don’t think of it at all as a gift’: Why it’s complicated being a gifted child”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2025:

noun

A person who has special abilities or unusually great intellect.

[…] the gifteds would have to sit on a side table, getting cramp, or lean against the wall, sliding off into vertigo.1961, The Spectator (volume 206, page 141)
[…] the gifteds' social characteristics were more common than sensible. The belief prevailed that gifted students were withdrawn, scared, rejected subjects who were more to be pitied than emulated.1964, William Kirtley Durr, The Gifted Student (page 37)