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
Albert Lee The 81-year-old Englander has been making music since the 1950s, gaining a reputation as quite the guitar hero working alongside luminaries from a number of genres.
—
Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
What the film could mean for Sacramento West said the Esquire screening on Monday came together quickly, with invitations to local luminaries going out days before.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025
This film would have brought the Harlem Renaissance and its luminaries to far greater prominence, during an era that was often neglectful of that movement’s heroes—and of new Black artists, too, as Greaves himself experienced.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the audience of TV luminaries that ministers are prepared to legislate if YouTube declines to prominently promote public service content.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2025
So, to, have Asia’s stars, including local luminaries including Bong Joon Ho, Lee Chang-don, Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin as well as veterans Tony Leung Kar-fai and Sylvia Chang.
—Mathew Scott, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
She and fellow luminaries such as Sheryl Crow and the Indigo Girls are featured in interviews discussing its cultural popularity and subsequent backlash, while modern stars like Olivia Rodrigo opine on the tour's influence.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Melissa Proctor, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Hawks and State Farm Arena, is one of several luminaries across the business, music, sports, and tech worlds who have added their voices to WAY.
—Ryan Stowers, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Herzl and many other Zionist luminaries came from secular backgrounds, but the movement also included more observant Jews.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
What the film could mean for Sacramento West said the Esquire screening on Monday came together quickly, with invitations to local luminaries going out days before.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025
This film would have brought the Harlem Renaissance and its luminaries to far greater prominence, during an era that was often neglectful of that movement’s heroes—and of new Black artists, too, as Greaves himself experienced.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the audience of TV luminaries that ministers are prepared to legislate if YouTube declines to prominently promote public service content.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2025
So, to, have Asia’s stars, including local luminaries including Bong Joon Ho, Lee Chang-don, Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin as well as veterans Tony Leung Kar-fai and Sylvia Chang.
—Mathew Scott, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
She and fellow luminaries such as Sheryl Crow and the Indigo Girls are featured in interviews discussing its cultural popularity and subsequent backlash, while modern stars like Olivia Rodrigo opine on the tour's influence.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Melissa Proctor, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Hawks and State Farm Arena, is one of several luminaries across the business, music, sports, and tech worlds who have added their voices to WAY.
—Ryan Stowers, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Herzl and many other Zionist luminaries came from secular backgrounds, but the movement also included more observant Jews.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
Noun
-
Some weeks, the stars align in all the right ways.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
6 Oct. 2025
-
In contrast with fans of other genres who expect stars to drop a thick new novel every half decade or so, romance readers expect their favorite authors to publish fast and frequently, and writers are typically happy to oblige.—
Rebecca Ackermann,
The Atlantic,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Melillo toyed with the idea of working more heavily with celebrities, but decided someone doesn’t necessarily need to have their name in lights to have the kind of reach that will help spread the ATM word.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Goodall inspired and advised world leaders, celebrities, scientists and conservationists.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
From even tiny initial seed fluctuations in the matter density of the Universe, star clusters, galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, and even larger structures like superclusters began to form.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Understanding them helps astronomers probe how black holes influence their host galaxies, regulating star formation and spreading matter and energy far into intergalactic space.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
More importantly, both people have to actually want to share the role, which is a trait that doesn’t always align with personalities drawn to being a CEO.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Known for their loud personalities, huskies are no stranger to using their voices, but a video of a senior, deaf husky's silent howl is proving that even without sound, the breed still speaks volumes.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The images could help scientists further develop theories of how matter behaves in the extreme environments around supermassive black holes, which have masses of millions or even billions of suns and are found at the hearts of all large galaxies.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
This new black hole, which is as heavy as 50 million suns and is dubbed QSO1, clashes with the old, provisional account of the galaxy formation process, which did not start with black holes.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This marked a slight increase on figures from August, during which time Moscow claimed to have downed 2,786 Ukrainian drones at an average rate of nearly 90 per day.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Dylan Cease, the talented but mercurial right-hander, will take the mound Wednesday afternoon with what figures to be a short leash.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Its placement in the rankings highlights how coastal areas of China invest in large-scale infrastructure to support their dense urban and industrial clusters.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The presidency said the convoy was also carrying dignitaries including Vatican diplomat Andrés Carrascosa, European Union Ambassador Jekaterina Dorodnova and Italian Ambassador Giovanni Davoli.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Riefenstahl’s friendship with Hitler and other Nazi dignitaries was well documented during WWII.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share