1
: standing out conspicuously : prominent
especially
: of notable significance
salient points/questions
One of the salient features of these Celtic structures … is the extreme narrowness of the buildings in proportion to their length. —
Farley Mowat
Farley Mowat For commuters in suburban communities … safety on the city's public transportation network is a uniquely salient topic. —Tim Balk
Tim Balk 2
: projecting beyond a line, surface, or level
… not on the level ground, but on a salient corner … of earth …—Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
saliently
adverb
: something (such as a promontory) that projects outward or upward from its surroundings
especially
: an outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense
Did you know?
When salient first hopped into English, it described things—animals especially—that move by jumping, springing, or leaping. Small wonder, then, that the word comes from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Polyglots may also recognize the influence of salire on the Spanish verb salir, meaning "to leave," and the French verb saillir, meaning "to jut out.") Today, salient is usually used to describe things that "leap out" in a figurative sense, such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points made in an essay or argument.
Examples of salient in a Sentence
Adjective
Then there were those who doubted the need for radio in the first place, since the telegraph was already ubiquitous. Marconi's salient achievement was to realize that radio waves could be transmitted across vast distances, an incalculable step forward in mass communications.
—Kevin Baker, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2006
A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois by Diener and Seligman found that the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.
—Claudia Wallis, Time, 17 Jan. 2005
The difference between the people Liebling chose to write about and today's celebrity culture is the difference between the "profile" and the "portrait." A profile is an outline, a concise rendering of the most salient facts, though the facts may be inessential and even inaccurate in their generality. … A portrait, on the other hand, is a revelation, an exposure.
—Lee Siegel, Harper's, December 2004
Kermeen cites "a book published in 1882" that says of ghosts at the Myrtles: "The lights are never extinguished at the plantation. When the lights are all out, something always happens." Kermeen does not further identify this book (another source says it was published "in 1900"), but the salient point here is that it apparently did not mention the Chloe tale. That suggests it was probably unknown until relatively recently.
—Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2003
Noun
The attempts of the Teutonic armies to envelop and destroy some portion of the Russian forces involved the creation of several dangerous salients in the Russian line, followed by an endeavor to close the neck of each salient by attacks from both sides and so to isolate the armies forming its apex.
—Douglas Wilson Johnson, Topography and Strategy in the War, 1917
Kevin Baker, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2006
A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois by Diener and Seligman found that the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.
—Claudia Wallis, Time, 17 Jan. 2005
The difference between the people Liebling chose to write about and today's celebrity culture is the difference between the "profile" and the "portrait." A profile is an outline, a concise rendering of the most salient facts, though the facts may be inessential and even inaccurate in their generality. … A portrait, on the other hand, is a revelation, an exposure.
—Lee Siegel, Harper's, December 2004
Kermeen cites "a book published in 1882" that says of ghosts at the Myrtles: "The lights are never extinguished at the plantation. When the lights are all out, something always happens." Kermeen does not further identify this book (another source says it was published "in 1900"), but the salient point here is that it apparently did not mention the Chloe tale. That suggests it was probably unknown until relatively recently.
—Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2003
Noun
The attempts of the Teutonic armies to envelop and destroy some portion of the Russian forces involved the creation of several dangerous salients in the Russian line, followed by an endeavor to close the neck of each salient by attacks from both sides and so to isolate the armies forming its apex.
—Douglas Wilson Johnson, Topography and Strategy in the War, 1917
Recent Examples on the Web
Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
The issue remains salient in several northern Virginia communities, where issues over transgender girls are still being hammered out.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 29 Oct. 2025
Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
This concept covers how memories are prioritized immediately after a big or salient event.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for salient
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Adjective
Below are the three most salient lessons from the depths of the speculative fiction trenches.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
The issue remains salient in several northern Virginia communities, where issues over transgender girls are still being hammered out.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
In 2023, the country enshrined nuclear weapons in its constitution, underscoring how salient the Kim regime views the capability to its survival.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
This concept covers how memories are prioritized immediately after a big or salient event.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for salient
Cite this Entry
“Salient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salient. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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