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Stella, the Latin word for "star," shines brightly in the word constellation, but stella words have been favored by scientists to describe earthly things as much as heavenly bodies. Stellar was once used to mean "star-shaped." That use is no longer current, but today biologists and geologists might use one of these synonyms: stellular, stellate, and stelliform. Poets, too, have looked to stella. John Milton used stellar in its infancy when he wrote in Paradise Lost "these soft fires … shed down their stellar virtue." Stellar shot into its leading role as a synonym of star (as when we say "stellar pupil") in the late 1800s.
Examples of stellar in a Sentence
Mike Wall, Space.com, 10 Jan. 2026
Attracted by the city’s reputation for having stellar schools and one of the lowest crime rates in Florida, many immigrants from Venezuela settled in Weston.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Neither enters the postseason on a particularly stellar note.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Don’t miss a visit to the A60 rooftop to enjoy stellar views with your cocktails.
—John Wogan, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stellar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stellar. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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stellar
adjective
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