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
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Recent Examples of luminaries
The city, of course, was mourning, but rock luminaries also began paying tribute.
—
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
Grade inflation isn’t restricted to Harvard, as reports in recent years have cited the practice at other Ivy League luminaries.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
That puts them ahead of luminaries like Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
On October 20, Chan and her newlywed wife, the director Hayley Kosan, held a chic-as-hell wedding ceremony at No Bar in Manhattan’s East Village, complete with drag performances from such luminaries as West Dakota, Cherry Veronica Jaymes, and more.
—James Factora, Them., 27 Oct. 2025
Jack DeJohnette, the jazz drummer, pianist, and bandleader who played on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and worked closely with Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, and many other jazz luminaries, has died.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2025
Janet Jackson, Liza Minelli, Jenna Dewan and Derek Hough were just a few of the luminaries who gathered in the Beverly Hilton ballroom on Tuesday to celebrate dancers, singers and choreographers at the Dancers Against Cancer Gala of the Stars.
—Alex Cramer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
The company was founded in 2015 by high-profile tech figures like Musk, Sam Altman and Peter Thiel with capital from its founders and other tech luminaries and companies like Amazon Web Services.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
The letter’s more notable signatories include AI pioneer and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, other AI luminaries such as Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell, as well as business leaders such as Virgin cofounder Richard Branson and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
Grade inflation isn’t restricted to Harvard, as reports in recent years have cited the practice at other Ivy League luminaries.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
That puts them ahead of luminaries like Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
On October 20, Chan and her newlywed wife, the director Hayley Kosan, held a chic-as-hell wedding ceremony at No Bar in Manhattan’s East Village, complete with drag performances from such luminaries as West Dakota, Cherry Veronica Jaymes, and more.
—James Factora, Them., 27 Oct. 2025
Jack DeJohnette, the jazz drummer, pianist, and bandleader who played on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and worked closely with Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, and many other jazz luminaries, has died.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2025
Janet Jackson, Liza Minelli, Jenna Dewan and Derek Hough were just a few of the luminaries who gathered in the Beverly Hilton ballroom on Tuesday to celebrate dancers, singers and choreographers at the Dancers Against Cancer Gala of the Stars.
—Alex Cramer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
The company was founded in 2015 by high-profile tech figures like Musk, Sam Altman and Peter Thiel with capital from its founders and other tech luminaries and companies like Amazon Web Services.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
The letter’s more notable signatories include AI pioneer and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, other AI luminaries such as Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell, as well as business leaders such as Virgin cofounder Richard Branson and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
Noun
-
Two were against future NFL stars (Southern Miss’ Brett Favre and NC State’s Philip Rivers).—
Matt Baker,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Meanwhile, several of the show's younger stars continued acting and have appeared in various television shows and movies.—
Michele Corriston,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
As an attorney at Blank Rome, Combs represents high-net-worth individuals and celebrities like model Emily Ratajkowski and hairstylist Chris Appleton.—
Gili Malinsky,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
-
New Zealanders are actively trying to not treat people like celebrities.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In the early 2010s, Courtois was part of the team that discovered and described the Laniakea supercluster of galaxies to which our Milky Way belongs.—
Caroline Carlson,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Over the decades, the observatories on Kitt Peak have helped map dark matter, chart distant galaxies and train generations of astronomers.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Since welcoming the twins, Sidibe has been candid online about her and Frankel's parenting journey — from flying with two babies to attending swimming lessons and discovering each of the twins' unique personalities.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
1 Nov. 2025
-
The characters are all different, but the contrast in personalities was similar.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
31 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
-
The victories are seen by many analysts and political figures as a signal that Democrats have regained momentum after losses in the 2024 election cycle—while some Republican voices warn of growing disconnection from core voters.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Turnout figures for the Sacramento region show the Yes on 50 campaign benefitted from low voter turnout compared to other recent elections.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Five clusters of uniformed girls press together, arms uplifted, each holding up another girl who balances on one leg.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
-
If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Representatives from various branches of the Armed Forces and city dignitaries are slated to attend.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Despite spending heavily to restore the mansion, Bloomberg chose to live in his Upper East Side townhouse, emphasizing the mansion’s role as a venue for municipal events, meetings with foreign dignitaries, and public tours rather than as a personal residence.—
Nandika Chatterjee,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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