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
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 luminaries
Speakers and other luminaries in attendance included San Diego County Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Monica Montgomery Steppe, former state comptroller and California governor candidate Betty Yee, San Francisco Bay Area Assemblymember Mia Bonta, and many others.
—
Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Carey will perform alongside several Italian music luminaries.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Feb. 2026
While the 2028 Summer Olympics ceremony in Los Angeles will no doubt be packed with Hollywood stars, Italy’s global luminaries emanate from the fashion world.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
Landmarks like Hôtel Belles Rives in Côte d'Azur and New York City’s Hotel Chelsea have welcomed luminaries over the ages.
—Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
Scotland produced luminaries like David Hume, Adam Smith, James Watt, James Hutton, and Joseph Black.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Some luminaries were in attendance for Arizona State — James Harden, Cam Skattebo, Jordyn Tyson, Kenny Dillingham — and the home team shot a respectable 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Rivera, who met Goldberg at a dinner with his manager five years ago, ran with the idea, placing a cast of Puerto Rican luminaries in the famous rowboat alongside Bad Bunny — who is draped in the Puerto Rican flag and standing in Washington’s place.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner and a cast of other soon-to-be luminaries were part of the Toronto company, and Second City had rapidly become a popular nightspot.
—Lynn Hirschberg, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2026
Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Carey will perform alongside several Italian music luminaries.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Feb. 2026
While the 2028 Summer Olympics ceremony in Los Angeles will no doubt be packed with Hollywood stars, Italy’s global luminaries emanate from the fashion world.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
Landmarks like Hôtel Belles Rives in Côte d'Azur and New York City’s Hotel Chelsea have welcomed luminaries over the ages.
—Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
Scotland produced luminaries like David Hume, Adam Smith, James Watt, James Hutton, and Joseph Black.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Some luminaries were in attendance for Arizona State — James Harden, Cam Skattebo, Jordyn Tyson, Kenny Dillingham — and the home team shot a respectable 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Rivera, who met Goldberg at a dinner with his manager five years ago, ran with the idea, placing a cast of Puerto Rican luminaries in the famous rowboat alongside Bad Bunny — who is draped in the Puerto Rican flag and standing in Washington’s place.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner and a cast of other soon-to-be luminaries were part of the Toronto company, and Second City had rapidly become a popular nightspot.
—Lynn Hirschberg, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminaries
Noun
-
The lowest-mass stars appear small, faint, red, and cool; the higher mass stars appear large, bright, blue, and hot.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Tokyo — In scenes normally reserved for J-pop stars, thousands of fans huddle against the cold outside a small train station on the outskirts of Tokyo, their phones held high for a glimpse of Japan’s latest obsession.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Michael Kors welcomed a packed front row of celebrities to the Metropolitan Opera House on Thursday evening for his fall 2026 show, which also happened to be his 45th anniversary.—
Leigh Nordstrom,
Footwear News,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Over the past ten years, celebrities have gone from treating profiles as a necessary part of the job — grin and bear it, hold a puppy, say the least offensive things possible — to giving you absolutely nothing.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The European Space Agency telescope is designed to make a 3D map of the universe by looking at billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light years away across one third of the sky.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Mingarelli and colleagues hunted for supermassive black hole binaries using their new approach in 114 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), the bright central regions of galaxies where supermassive black holes are ravenously feasting on surrounding gas and dust.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And many of the media companies have great monetization but don’t really have any of the big personalities and audiences was a really interesting point.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The New York Giants rookie running back has become one of the most electric personalities in all of sports — and off the field, his relationship with influencer girlfriend Chloe Rodriguez is giving fans even more content to follow.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The bright star is so large that more than 400 million suns could fit inside of it.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
20 Jan. 2026
-
The exhibit combines ultra-high-definition images taken by the James Webb Telescope with giant models of the planets and suns.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Joe Brusuelas, senior economist at RSM US, highlighted a few of those factors when pushing back on White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett’s claim Monday that subdued job gains are primarily the result of lower population figures and higher productivity.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Since the retail figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, weaker figures could be impacted by steep holiday discounts.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These are clusters of four to five fresh, naked ginger pieces, so they don’t get dried out, and are usually exactly how much a recipe calls for, between 1 and 2 tablespoons.—
Alex Beggs,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Its medium-large, 26- to 40-petal-count, salmon-pink blooms with a pink reverse are held in large clusters.—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Alumni, staff and local dignitaries helped celebrate the 20th anniversary over the weekend at the Anaheim campus, which featured tours of its high-tech classroom and giveaways from corporate sponsors.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Sealey would prepare meals for those who came to dine with the Queen Mother, including biographer Kenneth Rose and local dignitaries.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Luminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminaries. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
