variants
also loadstars
as in compasses
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle
a society seemingly with unbridled greed as its only lodestar
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lodestars
Over succeeding decades, both Sellars and Salonen have been Salzburg Festival lodestars.
—
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
But in swapping out just four tracks, FKA twigs finally brought planet EUSEXUA into the orbit of her late-’90s pop lodestars.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Despite their three-year age difference, Derek Hough and Julianne Hough have become the twin lodestars of Dancing With the Stars.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
But in swapping out just four tracks, FKA twigs finally brought planet EUSEXUA into the orbit of her late-’90s pop lodestars.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Despite their three-year age difference, Derek Hough and Julianne Hough have become the twin lodestars of Dancing With the Stars.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lodestars
Noun
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Pilots learn to navigate using maps and compasses, as well as natural cues such as stars and terrain features including rivers, bridges and other landmarks to orient themselves and move toward friendly forces.—
Luis Martinez,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Likewise, this administration has demonstrated a talent for sudden pivots — foreign policy statements that change overnight, budget proposals that evaporate by morning, and messaging that suggests the communications team may be using different maps, compasses and time zones.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Prior to that time, a conservative who dared toss the dirty indictment at his or her opponent would face disapproval from all directions, and, of course, condemnation from the legacy media.—
Bob Ehrlich,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Now that her eldest son is in his 20s and her youngest son, 14, is old enough to stay home by himself, the actor feels ready to expand in all directions.—
Zeba Blay,
SELF,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Running April 23-May 3, the Canary Islands event returns with more than 100 titles spanning competition, retrospectives, live-score screenings and special focuses.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
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That comprehensive toll is one of the central focuses of a key report by Geoffrey Roth, a Standing Rock Sioux descendant, former vice chair of the Permanent Forum, and board chair of the Indigenous Determinants of Health Alliance, an international Indigenous health advocacy nonprofit.—
ANITA HOFSCHNEIDER,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Princess Elizabeth and her family toured the Sandringham Park grounds, which were being used for agricultural purposes to contribute to the war efforts, in August 1943.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
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But as soon as one flagellar motor reverses direction and starts rotating clockwise, the bundle falls apart; the reverse-twirling filament unravels the braid and puts the cell’s flagellar motors at cross-purposes, kicking the cell around.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lodestars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lodestars. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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