luminary

1 a ball-shaped gaseous celestial body that shines by its own light awed by the vast number of luminaries in the night sky Synonyms star, sphere, sunRelated Words cluster, constellation, galaxy; binary star, brown dwarf, dwarf, fixed star, gasser, giant star, lodestar (also loadstar), neutron star, nova, pulsar, quasar, red dwarf, red giant, red star, subdwarf, supercluster, supergiant, supernova, variable, variable star, white dwarf

2 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 big name, cause célèbre (also cause celebre), celeb, figure, icon (also ikon), light, celebrity, megastar, name, notability, notable, notoriety, personage, personality, somebody, standout, star, superstar, VIPRelated Words favorite, heartthrob, hero, idol; demigod, dignitary, eminence, immortal, monument, pillar, worthy; baron, big shot, bigwig, kahuna, magnate, mogul, nabob, panjandrumNear Antonyms lightweight, mediocrity; has-beenAntonyms nobody, noncelebrity