seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈse-mə-nᵊl 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen

seminal discharge

2

: containing or contributing the seeds of later development : creative, original

a seminal book

seminally

ˈse-mə-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of seminal in a Sentence

Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2000 for his seminal observation that it was in the action of the synapses between cells that memory existed, not in the cells themselves, and that a molecule called cyclic AMP was what allowed cells to retain memory over the long term. —Michael Greenberg, New York Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2008

Writer Susan Sontag died December 28 at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. She left behind an impressive body of fiction and criticism, including her seminal 1960s essays "Notes on Camp" and "Against Interpretation." —Allan Gurganus, Advocate, 1 Feb. 2005

I wonder if the curators who organized "Matisse Picasso" ever asked themselves why it was that Alfred H. Barr Jr., the first director of the Museum of Modern Art and the guiding spirit behind the museum's seminal exhibitions of both Picasso and Matisse, never mounted a show like the one that has now arrived at MoMA QNS. Such an exhibition might seem to be logical, almost inevitable for the Museum of Modern Art. —Jed Perl, New Republic, 3 Mar. 2003

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2001, the brilliant columnist Robert Lipsyte wrote a seminal column for The New York Times on the ugly status of college sports in American higher education. — Bruce Svare, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2026

This moving, creative, and seminal documentary depicts the final reunion of an all-Black six-man patrol team in Vietnam, ensuring that their courage and experiences are not lost to history. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026

The 724-foot-high, 61-story One Dalton was designed by architect Henry Cobb, the architect behind Boston’s seminal John Hancock Tower (now called 200 Clarendon Street). — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

The night was a celebration of Alas’s recent campaign for the seminal American label, starring Kendall Jenner. — Vogue, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin seminalis, from semin-, semen seed — more at semen

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seminal

• seminal duct
• seminal fluid
• seminal vesicle

Rhymes for seminal

• trigeminal

Medical Definition

seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈsem-ən-ᵊl 

: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen

seminal discharge