as in compass
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle
under the polestar of progress, urban renewal programs gutted the historic districts of many cities
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Recent Examples of polestar
Bob Whitman was a polestar in the great era before that.
—
Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
While his Late Night forerunner Letterman was probably the comedic polestar of Generation X—gruff, cynical, and biting the hand that fed—O’Brien became a bedrock influence for the next generation of Millennial comics.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2025
Maison Proust, Paris (Image credit: Maison Proust) Opulence is the polestar at Maison Proust.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
Durazzi had horses freely roaming the garden; inside the gallery, models were standing on a felt-padded plinth, while images of women who are the designer’s polestars—artists, scientists, and intellectuals from Phoebe Boswell to Carla Cerati to Ottessa Moshfegh—were projected on their faces.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2023
As Twitter appears to go down in flames, with nothing on the horizon to rise in its place as the polestar of the media firmament, there is some hope that people in the press or in Hollywood may have to update their priors once more about how young activists actually talk and behave.
—WIRED, 16 Nov. 2022
The Brazilian restaurant has been lauded widely as a polestar of exciting food in the city.
—Dallas News, 13 Oct. 2022
And, of course, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn’s polestar for art and repertory programming.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2022
Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
While his Late Night forerunner Letterman was probably the comedic polestar of Generation X—gruff, cynical, and biting the hand that fed—O’Brien became a bedrock influence for the next generation of Millennial comics.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2025
Maison Proust, Paris (Image credit: Maison Proust) Opulence is the polestar at Maison Proust.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
Durazzi had horses freely roaming the garden; inside the gallery, models were standing on a felt-padded plinth, while images of women who are the designer’s polestars—artists, scientists, and intellectuals from Phoebe Boswell to Carla Cerati to Ottessa Moshfegh—were projected on their faces.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2023
As Twitter appears to go down in flames, with nothing on the horizon to rise in its place as the polestar of the media firmament, there is some hope that people in the press or in Hollywood may have to update their priors once more about how young activists actually talk and behave.
—WIRED, 16 Nov. 2022
The Brazilian restaurant has been lauded widely as a polestar of exciting food in the city.
—Dallas News, 13 Oct. 2022
And, of course, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn’s polestar for art and repertory programming.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polestar
Noun
-
In ordinary magnetic materials, unpaired electrons behave like tiny compasses and eventually align with one another.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Jan. 2026
-
Grab the pair in a dark blue wash similar to the one Larter is wearing, like compass, blackout, or rivers edge.—
Sian Babish,
PEOPLE,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For once, things appear to be moving in the right direction in the injury department.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The poll shows that 47% of Marylanders believe the state is headed in the right direction, but 44% say the state is headed in the wrong direction.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Polestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polestar. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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