seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈse-mə-nᵊl How to pronounce seminal (audio)
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 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
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The curriculum tackles a small number of seminal topics in each school year—like ratio and proportion or the concept of integers—and teaches these deeply from multiple angles. Linda Darling-Hammond, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025 First appearing as a genre-defining manga that ran throughout the 1980s, Akira is best known as the seminal 1988 anime that was a defining moment for adult animation and Japanese culture in terms of reaching a worldwide audience. Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2025 Below, take a trip down memory lane and relive 2005 with Jeezy — who’s currently touring his seminal debut with a live orchestra. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 27 June 2025 But the films, released in the late ’50s, also marked a seminal moment in multipart cinematic storytelling. David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for seminal

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of seminal was in the 14th century

Cite this Entry

“Seminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seminal. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Medical Definition

seminal

adjective
sem·​i·​nal ˈsem-ən-ᵊl How to pronounce seminal (audio)
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge

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