Definition of seminal
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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 of seminal from the Web
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Okay, so Paine and Mill spelled all this out more than a century before Milton Friedman penned his seminal piece on school vouchers in 1955.
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That was a seminal piece in my waking up to the role of government in individual lives.
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Barney helped her chose new images and rework originals for the August reprint of her seminal book, Iowa, by University of Texas Press.
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Seminal acts like California band T.S.O.L. will attract aging punks, while head-bangers will mosh to metal bands including Hatebreed.
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Plett is the author of the seminal work A Safe Girl to Love, which spotlights the lives of trans women.
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That year, in a seminal issue of The Baffler, the editor Thomas Frank’s essay ‘‘Alternative to What?’’ issued something of a state of the alt-union, pledging a long fight: ‘
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Touting a much different style, the singers in The Spaniels Forever will salute a seminal rhythm-and-blues vocal group at 5:15 p.m. July 2.
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Here is a look at what lies ahead: FESTERING CONFLICT This month marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war — a seminal event in which Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seminal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of seminal
Middle English, from Latin seminalis, from semin-, semen seed — more at semen
Other Biology Terms
SEMINAL Defined for English Language Learners
seminal
playDefinition of seminal for English Language Learners
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: having a strong influence on ideas, works, events, etc., that come later : very important and influential
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medical : of or containing semen
Medical Dictionary
seminal
playMedical Definition of seminal
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen seminal discharge
Learn More about seminal
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See words that rhyme with seminal Nglish: Translation of seminal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of seminal for Arabic speakers
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