LUMINARIES Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

luminaries

noun

plural of luminary

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

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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 Chicago presses and luminaries have churned out an unusual number of music books this year, with a little something for everyone. — Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 Nominated for five Critics Choice Documentary Awards, the film compiles footage William Greaves shot in 1972 of a gathering of Harlem Renaissance luminaries at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2026 In 1972, William Greaves brought together an extraordinary gathering of surviving artists, writers, and cultural luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s townhouse for an afternoon of debate, reflection, laughter, and exchange. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026 His art often featured jazz luminaries, boxers, and other figures along with graffiti-like words. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2026 Sure, Sol LeWitt's swirls are here, but MASS MoCA is also home to incredible music, dance, theater, performance art, and film by luminaries like Wilco and David Byrne. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, Julia’s War helped launch the careers of indie luminaries like Wednesday and Feeble Little Horse, and their rolodex currently boasts promising up-and-comers like Cashier and MX Lonely. — Abby Jones, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026 Just this week, luminaries like Neil Young and Hideo Kojima came out of the woodwork to proclaim the film a misunderstood masterpiece. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 Of course, the West itself is a nebulous concept, one that was wholly absent from the ancient Greek and Roman luminaries who ground its canon. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries

Noun

That’s despite the series missing arguably the game’s biggest stars.

— Don Riddell, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer has attracted some big names in recent years including Hollywood stars Kieran Culkin and Josh Hartnett last year.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of stars

Noun

Catering to VICs and celebrities, Lepire says that her clients are often planning for rarefied parties, and come to Timeless Vixen to source vintage couture pieces that will elevate their look.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
She was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010 and was among the first celebrities honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

— Mya Copeland, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of celebrities

Noun

The universe is rife with galaxies, stars and worlds that change very little during an astronomer’s brief time on Earth.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
This image was captured as part of a larger Hubble survey that's exploring 260 satellite galaxies, which are galaxies gravitationally bound to larger hosts.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of galaxies

Noun

So far, astronomers have not detected any stupendously large black holes — currently, the largest black hole known may weigh about 36 billion suns.

— Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026
On July 2, 2025, a burst with energy equivalent to 1,000 suns blazing for 10 billion years lit up Fermi’s detectors, heading from a dusty galaxy about eight billion light-years from Earth.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of suns

Noun

The cost figures draw on the Family Budget Calculator developed by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute from federal data on rents, food costs and consumer spending, with The Post’s own health care estimates.

— Amy L. Wong, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
Another star turn goes to Mary Ellen Pleasant, who was arguably America’s first Black millionaire and inarguably one of the most canny and chameleonlike figures this country has ever produced.

— Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of figures

Noun

Industrial parks, logistics hubs, and technology clusters are springing up.

— Ningrong Liu, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said earlier this month that two supercomputing clusters powered by Nvidia technologies had already been launched in the country.

— Jenny Lee,Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of clusters

Noun

Kathleen Kennedy, who served as the president of Lucasfilm from 2012 to 2026, helped organize a group of industry dignitaries to put together a framework for how Hollywood should talk about it.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
By the late 1800s, the resort was a favorite destination for US Presidents (23 presidents have visited the property), foreign dignitaries and global business leaders.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of dignitaries

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luminance

luminaries

luminary

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“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of luminaries

noun

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