as in criterion
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared
his book has long been a touchstone for travel writing that aspires to be literature
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Recent Examples of touchstone
The work interweaves South and Southeast Asian mythologies and histories with Western cultural touchstones—from canonical artists to sacred texts—often with a deliberate sense of unease.
—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
23 June 2026
Beyond those obvious touchstones, though, there are surprising influences for this latest game.
—
George Yang,
Space.com,
22 June 2026
Some shows were educational, some were pure, glorious junk food for the mind, and others became cultural touchstones.
—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
22 June 2026
The original animatic was the touchstone for the project.
—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for touchstone
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
23 June 2026
Beyond those obvious touchstones, though, there are surprising influences for this latest game.
—
George Yang,
Space.com,
22 June 2026
Some shows were educational, some were pure, glorious junk food for the mind, and others became cultural touchstones.
—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
22 June 2026
The original animatic was the touchstone for the project.
—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for touchstone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touchstone
Noun
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Wellness considerations are increasingly factoring into how families evaluate prospective colleges—not as a soft afterthought but as a primary criterion.
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Chrysler and Dodge didn’t meet the study’s award criteria.
Noun
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In March, the administration filed a new lawsuit again trying to block California’s ability to set stricter-than-federal emissions standards for cars.
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And an Air Quality Alert was issued midday Thursday, due to ground level ozone concentrations reaching unhealthy standards, NWS forecasters say.
Noun
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Spot prices reflect real-time market trading and serve as a benchmark for futures contracts, ETFs and retail bullion pricing.
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Next Health’s most popular IV membership, at $299 a month, bundles two IV drips, two vitamin shots and monthly access to cryotherapy, infrared LED, hyperbaric oxygen and body composition scans, which is a useful benchmark for how the membership math actually works at a mid-tier clinic.
Cite this Entry
“Touchstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touchstone. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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