luminary

noun

lu·mi·nary | \ ˈlü-mə-ˌner-ē

plural luminaries

Definition of luminary

1 : a person of prominence or brilliant achievement a literary luminary a luminary in the medical profession

2 : a body that gives light especially : one of the celestial bodies skywatchers … will see one more bright luminary below Orion and Canis Major — Martin Ratcliffe

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Synonyms for luminary

Synonyms

Examples of luminary in a Sentence

luminaries of the art world awed by the vast number of luminaries in the night sky

Recent Examples on the Web The show’s opening sketch did not feature an Oscar-winning actor dropping by to play a Biden cabinet member, or a comedy luminary like Steve Martin or Martin Short swinging in as a manic Trump supporter. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Saturday Night Live Is Over It," 31 Jan. 2021 To Deborah Blum, who is now the director of MIT’s Knight Science Journalism Program and a luminary in the field, Sharon has long been someone to look up to. — Eric Boodman @ericboodman, STAT, "Sharon Begley, path-breaking science journalist who spun words into gold, dies at 64," 17 Jan. 2021 A century later, services were led by the Zionist luminary Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver. — Larry Luxner, sun-sentinel.com, "For West Virginia’s few Jews, the pandemic has offered silver linings," 30 Dec. 2020 Christina Crawford’s memoir about her horrific childhood as the daughter of Joan Crawford is adapted by the director Frank Perry (who’s also part of a quartet of screenwriters) into one of the finest bio-pics of a Hollywood luminary. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, "Twenty-five of the Best Films on Amazon Prime," 23 Dec. 2020 Lickliter also happened to be the grandson of Les Fox—a Hanover luminary. — Ben Cohen, WSJ, "The Case of the NBA’s Most Stolen Play," 21 Dec. 2020 This is a creative way to wrap a gift, plus doubles as a second gift since doubles as a luminary. — Kate Flynn, Sunset Magazine, "3 Easy, Sustainable, and Last-Minute-Friendly Gift Wrap Ideas," 21 Dec. 2020 Fortunately, that milieu resonated with Aparicio, a luminary of the flamenco world. — Washington Post, "‘Dance in DC’ short films capture the city’s spirit of entrepreneurship," 19 Dec. 2020 Richards, a luminary who, with the original production of A Raisin in the Sun, became the first Black director to stage a Broadway play, emphasized dramaturgy. — Abby Aguirre, Vogue, "The World According to Frances McDormand," 10 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'luminary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.