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

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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 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 In the wake of the original trilogy, Raimi and Campbell became horror movie luminaries and Campbell’s chainsaw-wielding and boomstick slinging Ash Williams transformed into an antihero icon. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 The organization’s selections include the Studies Building at Black Mountain College, an iconic, experimental liberal arts school that fostered the careers of luminaries such as Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning and Dorothea Rockburne. — News Desk, Artforum, 7 July 2026 Not only have names of former Big Brother players been floating on social media, but other reality TV luminaries have been attached to the upcoming installment, which premieres July 9 on CBS. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026 The band garnered the attention of indie luminaries, with the Silver Jews’ David Berman providing the liner notes to Pine Box. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026 Silicon Valley luminaries such as Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind are eating at his table. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026 Agassi, Nadal, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Jim Courier are among the tennis luminaries participating in the Djokovic documentary. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 26 June 2026 Peppered throughout the book are anecdotes from founding and existing farms and vendors, market shoppers, local politicians and other Yolo County luminaries. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
  1. stars
  2. celebrities
  3. galaxies
  4. personalities
  5. suns
  6. figures
  7. clusters
  8. dignitaries
Noun
  • Emma is played by different actresses over the course of the series (Jessica Reynolds, Brenda Blethyn) alongside a cast of talented co-stars.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026
  • The epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, whose long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War reunites him with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2026
Definition of stars
Noun
  • Since 1918, Barcelona's Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona has been warmly welcoming travelers, including celebrities, artists, and politicians.
    — Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • However, the polarizing trend has officially been declared *the* pants of summer 2026 thanks to celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
    — Tessa Petak, InStyle, 6 July 2026
Definition of celebrities
Noun
  • The images may help scientists discern how galaxies form and cluster over billions of years, and how the universe came to be.
    — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • Plenty of cosmic wonders are expected to be revealed by the telescope, including thousands of previously unseen asteroids, exploding supernova stars and millions of distant galaxies.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 7 July 2026
Definition of galaxies
Noun
  • The Test For Modern Leaders The most compelling leaders of 2026 and beyond are not necessarily the most vocal or the ones with the safest personalities.
    — Jon Michail, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • In addition, Summer House picked up cameras to film some of the key personalities involved in the scandal, giving them more closure following the reunion.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 8 July 2026
Definition of personalities
Noun
  • 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
  • Spoilers Ahead Kara is introduced as a reckless party animal, who spends her time seeking out planets orbiting red suns, to weaken her superpowered metabolism and become intoxicated.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
Definition of suns
Noun
  • Roberts said his product would be less expensive on a per-square-foot basis than traditional construction but declined to cite figures because individual site conditions affect the overall cost.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • The movie welcomes several major Hollywood figures, including Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin and Glenn Close.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
Definition of figures
Noun
  • But this year the shrub and tree forms, pruned and unpruned, are full of colorful clusters of blooms.
    — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2026
  • Saggar, who is familiar with the parasite, said there could be multiple clusters involving different sources.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of clusters
Noun
  • Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago and his hotel in Doral several times in the past year, hosting lavish parties attended by industry titans and foreign dignitaries.
    — Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
  • Senior Iranian officials attended the procession, as well as a number of foreign dignitaries.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 6 July 2026
Definition of dignitaries

Browse Nearby Words

luminance
luminaries
luminary
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Cite this Entry

“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of luminaries for Spanish Speakers

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