seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
ˈse-mə-nᵊl 
1
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge
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
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
Perhaps the seminal onscreen coke joke was Woody Allen’s sneezing into a bag of uncut powder in 1977’s Annie Hall.
—Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
The seminal homeware line won’t be the only novelty at Plan C Frame.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 8 July 2025
The trailer finds celebrities like Dillon and Brolin examining how reading On The Road affected their lives, while Michael Imperioli provides narration of moments from Kerouac's seminal work.
—Tommy McArdle, People.com, 8 July 2025
As trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk revealed in his seminal book The Body Keeps The Score, our bodies store unprocessed emotional experiences, which become the root of both physical and mental illness.
—Megan Bruneau, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminal
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Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
The seminal homeware line won’t be the only novelty at Plan C Frame.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 8 July 2025
The trailer finds celebrities like Dillon and Brolin examining how reading On The Road affected their lives, while Michael Imperioli provides narration of moments from Kerouac's seminal work.
—Tommy McArdle, People.com, 8 July 2025
As trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk revealed in his seminal book The Body Keeps The Score, our bodies store unprocessed emotional experiences, which become the root of both physical and mental illness.
—Megan Bruneau, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminal
Cite this Entry
“Seminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seminal. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
ˈsem-ən-ᵊl
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge
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