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paramount

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word paramount different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of paramount are dominant, predominant, and preponderant. While all these words mean "superior to all others in influence or importance," paramount implies supremacy in importance, rank, or jurisdiction.

unemployment was the paramount issue in the campaign

When is dominant a more appropriate choice than paramount?

The meanings of dominant and paramount largely overlap; however, dominant applies to something that is uppermost because ruling or controlling.

a dominant social class

Where would predominant be a reasonable alternative to paramount?

While in some cases nearly identical to paramount, predominant applies to something that exerts, often temporarily, the most marked influence.

a predominant emotion

When might preponderant be a better fit than paramount?

The synonyms preponderant and paramount are sometimes interchangeable, but preponderant applies to an element or factor that outweighs all others in influence or effect.

preponderant evidence in her favor

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 paramount
Noun
While staying safe and staying cool is paramount, people must also balance their bills. Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 21 June 2025 Seeking a rapid way out of the conflict is paramount. Ian Pannell, ABC News, 18 June 2025 For retirees wanting to enjoy Portugal’s beautiful coastlines and delicious foods full time, Terry Coles explains in International Living that securing resident visa is paramount. Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 16 June 2025 Addressing Data Bias Eradicating bias in our datasets should be a paramount consideration for all marketers. Jennifer Chase, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for paramount
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramount
Adjective
  • The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia's main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically motivated attack.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 6 July 2025
  • The circular balcony, which looks down on the museum’s main lobby, is festooned with ribbons from the ceremony that took place when the Long Wharf moved from its longtime home on the loading dock to offices in the Audubon arts district.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2025
Adjective
  • Frette bathrobes, pillow menus, spacious dressing rooms, walk-in wardrobes, free-standing bathtubs and Hermès amenities promise the utmost comfort.
    Natasha Amar, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • According to Aniston, focusing on crafting a better work-life balance for herself is of the utmost importance.
    Nicholas Rice, People.com, 22 June 2025
Adjective
  • In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is up 6.7%, and in Asia, most major markets are in positive territory, with Hong Kong and South Korea posting a whopping 20% gain year to date.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 July 2025
  • The show will feature more than 140 designs, most of them from the museum’s own collection, with the rest from private collections and institutions including London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, Palais Galliera in Paris and the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • His personal goal was surely the vanity of wanting to have never been wrong and the superpower of always being right—George Orwell speaks of the theological nature of totalitarians, who must constantly alter the past to claim to be always right in the present.
    Rebecca Solnit April 29, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2021
  • Ridicule only appeals to cool kids on coasts and the college towns and totalitarians.
    Letters to the Editor, Orange County Register, 17 Oct. 2020
Noun
  • Why don’t all the rich potentates, sheiks, oligarchs and MAGA dictators meet and fix it?
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
  • With the pandemic, the year-round population of a once-seasonal resort town swelled with Manhattan refugees, those in the Trump orbit, and tech and finance potentates, many of them serious collectors like Ken Griffin and Steve Ross.
    Ben Widdicombe, Vulture, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • Giard grew up to become both a voracious reader (with a B.A. in English and American literature from Yale and an M.A. in comparative literature from Boston University) and a foremost chronicler of writers.
    Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 28 June 2025
  • One of the Jet Propulsion Lab’s foremost scientists says the futuristic outpost is still hoping against hope that the president’s plan for NASA will be overturned by Congress.
    Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • Counselors, former campers and politicians who knew Eastland praised him for his heroic actions and ultimate sacrifice to save his campers.
    Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2025
  • Broadway was of course the dream, and then this role in this show was the ultimate dream.
    Nigel Smith, People.com, 6 July 2025
Noun
  • Congress needs to pass laws; the tech overlords just need to push code to screw things up.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025
  • Despite lawsuits in America giving his overlords more than a bit of a headache, Tanz has watched on quietly as multiple Love is Blind versions have landed with a bang in their respective countries.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Paramount.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramount. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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