as in stars
the person who has the most important role in a play, movie, or TV show
a headliner on variety shows in the early days of TV
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headliners
The festival — which focuses on Y2K era rock with past headliners like Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, and the Killers — has taken place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds every October from 2022 to 2025.
—
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
The Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival brings an eclectic lineup to this year’s event with headliners Cage the Elephant, Fisher, LCD Soundsystem, T-Pain and The Lumineers appearing among more than 130 acts performing this year.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
That set-up makes Cole relatively unique among prediction markets’ headliners, many of whom are suspected of exploiting insider info to dupe rubes for short-term gains.
—Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
Currently on his Mad About Nothing tour, Stroup can frequently be seen on a bill with Bargatze and other national headliners like Bert Kreischer, Larry the Cable Guy, and John Crist.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Allen and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles were the headliners, though.
—Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
The festival was set to feature Maná, Ivan Cornejo, J Balvin and Christian Nodal as headliners.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
Eric Church was not one of those headliners.
—Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2026
All three are first-time headliners for the festival, so anticipation is high.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
The Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival brings an eclectic lineup to this year’s event with headliners Cage the Elephant, Fisher, LCD Soundsystem, T-Pain and The Lumineers appearing among more than 130 acts performing this year.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
That set-up makes Cole relatively unique among prediction markets’ headliners, many of whom are suspected of exploiting insider info to dupe rubes for short-term gains.
—Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
Currently on his Mad About Nothing tour, Stroup can frequently be seen on a bill with Bargatze and other national headliners like Bert Kreischer, Larry the Cable Guy, and John Crist.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Allen and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles were the headliners, though.
—Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
The festival was set to feature Maná, Ivan Cornejo, J Balvin and Christian Nodal as headliners.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
Eric Church was not one of those headliners.
—Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2026
All three are first-time headliners for the festival, so anticipation is high.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headliners
Noun
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During the final stretch of 2025, Tien reached Beijing’s China Open final, captured his maiden tour title at Metz, France, and closed the season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals (for top players 20-and-younger) — results that marked him as one of the tour’s fastest-rising young stars.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Portside Wood Round Dining Table Set For dining under the sun or stars, this elevated dining set checks all the boxes.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Forty-five percent of the principals agreed that the state letter grade system helps their school to plan improvements, and 47 percent disagreed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The Oklahoman asked superintendents, principals, teachers, and guidance counselors from across the Oklahoma City area to participate in the Student of the Week program by sending nominations for their student.—
Darla Rivera,
Oklahoman,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Headliners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headliners. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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