as in center
a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest
during the Vietnam War the university's campus effectively became the area's omphalos for antiwar activity
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Recent Examples of omphalos
While the temples have crumbled, seeing the omphalos gave me goose bumps, and left me awe-struck over Delphi’s sublime place in history.
—
Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
Zeus marked the spot with a stone called the omphalos (navel), to signify the location’s centrality.
—National Geographic, 12 Mar. 2019
Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
Zeus marked the spot with a stone called the omphalos (navel), to signify the location’s centrality.
—National Geographic, 12 Mar. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for omphalos
Noun
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The synagogue houses a preschool and family center, but officials said all 140 students and staff members were accounted for and safe, according to CNN and other media reports.—
Daniel Hunt
March 12,
Sacbee.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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Concerns center on Azizi’s ties to regional leaders and the scale of Nation Media’s operations, which employ hundreds of journalists across television, radio, and print in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania.—
Vivianne Wandera,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Intense airstrikes hit early Friday around Iran's capital, Tehran, as well as outlying areas.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
-
More traditional and slower-paced than Japan’s capital, Tokyo, or its neighbor, Osaka, the city is truly breathtaking in a unique way; rich historic districts, centuries-old temples, and zen gardens stand in for sleek skyscrapers and neon lights.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Vogue,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Each January, that stillness is interrupted by the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, transforming a quiet alpine town, Davos, into a mecca of power.—
Victoria Bousis,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2026
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That’s why the famed Trout Lily Trail in the West Palisades section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Atlanta has become a spring mecca for many of us wildflower lovers.—
Charles Seabrook,
AJC.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
13 Mar. 2026
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Southwest Airlines is cutting service at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, effectively ceding ground to the two giants jockeying for dominance at the hub.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Meanwhile, molecules involved in regulating the genome must be ushered into the nucleus preferentially.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
9 Mar. 2026
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In the recent past, there have been a lot of those painful educational experiences for the franchise’s young nucleus.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hundreds of eyes go wide, taking in the warm sweep of my navel, my hips.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Blood was drawn from his navel to evaluate his oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.—
Steven Levingston,
Vanity Fair,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Humans and golden retrievers were found to share common psychiatric-cognitive-temperamental loci.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Publishing my first novel, The Guineveres, seemed to be permission enough to keep writing—an external locus of validation that required nothing from my body but stillness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Omphalos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/omphalos. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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