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
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Recent Examples of luminaries
Paschal’s Restaurant & Bar served as a meeting place for the Civil Rights Movement’s luminaries in the 1950s, while Canton House helped transform Buford Highway into a global dining destination in the 1990s.
—
Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Poet Federico García Lorca, painter Salvador Dalí, and film director Luis Buñuel were among the luminaries to raise a drink at the Palace.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
And there are tech luminaries such as Steve Case and Meg Whitman.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
For years, Reznor has remixed his own songs and invited dance music luminaries to perform cosmetic surgery on others.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2026
As the genre eventually called alt-country calcified in Souled American’s wake, luminaries like John Darnielle, Will Oldham, and Tweedy himself all evangelized about the Chicago group without ever replicating their sound.
—Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026
In this milieu, Hollywood A-listers like Will Ferrell and Sharon Stone, who occupy separate cliques nearby, pale in comparison to the mingling artistic luminaries.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Mexico’s most prominent film fest will see a bevy of international stars descending on its second biggest city, with such luminaries as Darren Aronofsky, Edgar Ramirez and Almodovar regular Lola Dueñas, all of whom are being honored.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Singer Tammy McCann joins five of-the-moment local musical luminaries to honor the women who shaped our Chicago sound.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Poet Federico García Lorca, painter Salvador Dalí, and film director Luis Buñuel were among the luminaries to raise a drink at the Palace.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
And there are tech luminaries such as Steve Case and Meg Whitman.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
For years, Reznor has remixed his own songs and invited dance music luminaries to perform cosmetic surgery on others.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2026
As the genre eventually called alt-country calcified in Souled American’s wake, luminaries like John Darnielle, Will Oldham, and Tweedy himself all evangelized about the Chicago group without ever replicating their sound.
—Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026
In this milieu, Hollywood A-listers like Will Ferrell and Sharon Stone, who occupy separate cliques nearby, pale in comparison to the mingling artistic luminaries.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Mexico’s most prominent film fest will see a bevy of international stars descending on its second biggest city, with such luminaries as Darren Aronofsky, Edgar Ramirez and Almodovar regular Lola Dueñas, all of whom are being honored.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Singer Tammy McCann joins five of-the-moment local musical luminaries to honor the women who shaped our Chicago sound.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
Noun
-
Her songs in the film — written by Charli xcx, Jack Antonoff, and FKA twigs, who also co-stars — also have real pop bona fides.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Hitting theaters Friday, director Antoine Fuqua‘s biopic stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the pop music superstar, with Colman Domingo playing his father, Joe Jackson, and Nia Long as mother Katherine.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The backstory Originally built during New York City’s Roaring ‘20s in 1926, the Surrey is a historic Art Deco gem that was once a residential hotel frequented by celebrities like JFK, Bette Davis, and Claudette Colbert.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Still, celebrities have to grapple with the reputational risks of leaning into a technology that garners widespread public distrust.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some even suggested galaxies could still be chock-full of gas but somehow not forming stars, which would be a real head-scratcher for anyone trying to understand stellar nurseries.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Scientists are using Nvidia GPUs to examine the data and regularly discovering the oldest galaxies in the universe.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Schneider gave a shout-out to his scouting staff for doing the work to uncover the type of personalities the Seahawks would be acquiring.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
For the very first time, Rina and Serasi stepped onto their outdoor habitat — and their personalities were already on full display.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported Thursday.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Their results, published today in Nature Astronomy, show that the black hole’s jets move at about half the speed of light and carry about 10 percent of the total energy released by infalling matter—equivalent to the power output of 10,000 suns.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
While many departures could be precautionary rather than permanent, the figures point to a rupture in what had been a steady migration from Britain to the Gulf.—
Emma Graham,Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The recent figures don’t represent a retreat for the sector; on the contrary, 2025 was a record year for climate fund closes.—
Natasha Bracken,
semafor.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The fragrant white, pink, or purple flower clusters appear in spring.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Solar wind charge exchange had previously been considered interference or background noise interfering with astronomers' attempts to measure the density and temperature of plasma in distant galaxies and galaxy clusters.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The list of visiting dignitaries speaks to the growing nature of the threat.—
Alan Crawford,
Bloomberg,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The only other time the city quashes permit requests is during the United Nations General Assembly, a weeklong annual event in September that involves major street closures and police resources being heavily used to protect dignitaries from around the globe.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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