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Stella, the Latin word for "star," shines brightly in the word constellation, but stella words have been favored by scientists to describe earthly things as much as heavenly bodies. Stellar was once used to mean "star-shaped." That use is no longer current, but today biologists and geologists might use one of these synonyms: stellular, stellate, and stelliform. Poets, too, have looked to stella. John Milton used stellar in its infancy when he wrote in Paradise Lost "these soft fires … shed down their stellar virtue." Stellar shot into its leading role as a synonym of star (as when we say "stellar pupil") in the late 1800s.
Examples of stellar in a Sentence
Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2026
Orion the Hunter and the rest of his stellar gang of bright stars and constellations begin evenings lower and lower in the west each evening.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
That mentality was on display in Miami’s 2-1 Opening Day win over the Colorado Rockies, a gritty win that featured a stellar start from ace Sandy Alcantara, timely hitting and strong defense — the backbone of any successful team.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026
Phillies game forecast After a stellar Opening Day forecast, Saturday's Rangers-Phillies game will feel more like October baseball, with a feels-like temperature of around 39 degrees for first pitch.
—Grant Gilmore, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stellar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stellar. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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stellar
adjective
