If a person or thing is the exemplar of a particular virtue, you might say that they or it is exemplary or ideal; but the word "paragon" has a particular, even mythical connotation that none of the adjectives I've seen has. Could you say that something is "paragonic?" Perhaps "paragonal?"
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2This seems to be a lexical gap. But I haven't checked in OED. Though Wiktionary carries more headwords. // Making up pseudo-words to fill such gaps is non-standard and inadvisable for most purposes.– Edwin AshworthCommented Oct 25, 2023 at 18:48
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3 Answers
Paragon used to be an adjective, but it’s obsolete now:
paragon noun & adjective
† ADJECTIVE
Of outstanding quality; perfect; pre-eminent. Obsolete.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)
The last of the example entries is from 1849:
1849 O where is that paragon governess whom we want to keep them in order?
—W. M. Thackeray, Letter 30 August (1945) vol. II. 477
So unless you’re writing a period piece, there is no adjective form of paragon. You can derive your own adjective by suffixing -like (paragon-like), but I’m not sure that would further your cause.
answered Oct 25, 2023 at 20:01
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1a paragon virtue doesn't sound obsolete to me. Maybe they'd call that a noun used adjectivally, I dunno. Commented Oct 26, 2023 at 2:15
There isn't an adjectival form of 'paragon' that I can find.
The OP didn't ask the question directly, but says
... the word "paragon" has a particular, even mythical connotation that none of the adjectives I've seen has.
An adjective conveying that idea is
legendary
very famous and admired or spoken about
from a legend
of or relating to an old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories that people tell about a famous event or person
of or describing someone who is very famous and admired, usually because of an ability in a particular area
From Cambridge Dictionary.
answered Oct 25, 2023 at 20:06
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1While legendary has the mythic implication, it loses the exemplary sense of paragon.– BarmarCommented Oct 25, 2023 at 20:14
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Legendary certainly carries the 'prominent and admirable' sense (though 'pertaining to a legend' is obviously the root sense). CD even lists it first. Commented Oct 25, 2023 at 21:16
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@Barmar today, someone is called 'legendary' if they are very, very good at what they do. Commented Oct 25, 2023 at 22:05
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Yeah, that's a very recent sense. In my mind I link it with a movie like "Bill and Ted", but I'm not sure that's the right one.– BarmarCommented Oct 25, 2023 at 22:13
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@Barmar Bill and Ted's adventure wasn't a paragon. I get your understanding of 'legendary' but I'm applying the adjective to a person (although OP mentions 'thing' too). Commented Oct 26, 2023 at 20:20
Archetypal is defined by Collins dictionary as :
Someone or something that is "archetypal" has all the most important characteristics of a particular kind of person or thing and is a perfect example of it.
The word has the exemplary meaning, without mythical or legendary connotation.
