luminaries

noun

plural of luminary
1
as in stars
a ball-shaped gaseous celestial body that shines by its own light awed by the vast number of luminaries in the night sky

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in celebrities
a person who is widely known and usually much talked about luminaries from the worlds of sports, entertainment, and politics were at the gala

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of luminaries Nearly all of those Allman Brothers landmarks remain today, along with historic sites for Macon luminaries like Little Richard, Otis Redding, and James Brown. — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2026 Lionel Messi shared a stage with luminaries such as Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Novak Djokovic. — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 20 July 2026 Through the years, Reebok’s professional sports licenses ran out, and its contracts with music and athletic luminaries weren’t renewed. — Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 During a visit in March, the two-room space served as the temporary home to Thames’s latest beaded curtain portraits of notable Black luminaries, which lay on tables awaiting completion. — Shantay Robinson, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026 More than 200 economists and AI luminaries are urging action to address social and economic AI disruption. — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 14 July 2026 But we’re never seen a revolution move like this—and that’s why the luminaries above are so concerned. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 14 July 2026 Rock luminaries including Jackson Browne, Beck, Karen O and Jenny Lewis reimagine Anderson’s beloved needle drops, culminating in a raucous Bowl singalong punctuated by Bill Murray hammering a $9 desk bell. — Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026 Workers at Kings Road Merch—which acts as a supplier for punk luminaries including Rancid, Descendents, Dropkick Murphys, and Converge—had unanimously voted to unionize on May 11 this year, citing pay discrepancies and unfair contracts. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 9 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
  1. stars
  2. celebrities
  3. galaxies
  4. personalities
  5. suns
  6. figures
  7. clusters
  8. dignitaries
Noun
  • The returning stars include Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and Channing Tatum.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 July 2026
  • Located just steps from Reims' majestic cathedral, his restaurant has earned two Michelin stars while establishing relationships with many of the region's most respected champagne producers.
    — Yuri Shima, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of stars
Noun
  • Even during the match, cameramen and directors were obsessed with seeking out celebrities.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • In the first phase of Krinsky’s time at Reebok—before the Adidas acquisition—he was known for connecting celebrities with interesting backstories with the brand.
    — Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of celebrities
Noun
  • For the first time, astronomers have reconstructed the magnetic field of an entire cluster of galaxies, from its central nucleus to its outer limits.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 July 2026
  • This, in turn, can help refine our bigger-picture understanding of how stars and galaxies formed.
    — Damien Pine, Scientific American, 21 July 2026
Definition of galaxies
Noun
  • To produce the coverage, Telemundo deployed more than 80 on-air personalities representing every Latin American country in the tournament, generating over 700 hours of original programming across 39 days.
    — Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • The reductions primarily involve behind-the-scenes production staffers, but a handful of on-air personalities also are leaving including lead baseball play-by-play voice Karl Ravech and NFL analyst Ryan Clark.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 21 July 2026
Definition of personalities
Noun
  • Although Earth may orbit around a single star, more than half of all stars are in systems where two or more suns orbit each other.
    — Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 21 July 2026
  • His suns stare curiously from one side of a page spread to another and his stacks of hay worriedly study the horizon, while his one-eyed stools and one-eyed fenceposts pop up like eager cyclopses.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
Definition of suns
Noun
  • Leipzig had locker room issues a few years ago, when a few players were regarded as not pulling their weight — and Schlager was one of the senior figures who challenged them and urged them to improve their mentality.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Those figures are comparable only in some respects because private transaction values can include debt while public market capitalizations do not.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of figures
Noun
  • This Asian shrub fits easily into gardens, with a dense, compact habit and clusters of tiny pink or white flowers in late spring or summer.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026
  • The city had worked for years to draw new businesses and modern apartment complexes that the area, and officials have been frustrated about clusters of apparently jobless and homeless people making residents uncomfortable.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
Definition of clusters
Noun
  • Among the ships open for tours is the USS Arlington, a nearly 700-foot-long Navy amphibious transport ship, which typically moves Marines, Sailors and dignitaries across the world.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Sometimes, there are three dinners with local officials and dignitaries or 2am bedtimes before rest days.
    — Andy McGrath, New York Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of dignitaries

Browse Nearby Words

luminance
luminaries
luminary
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on luminaries

Nglish: Translation of luminaries for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kludge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All