salient

[ sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt ]

adjective

1. prominent or conspicuous:

   salient traits.

   Synonyms: remarkable, striking, important

   Antonyms: unimportant, inconspicuous

2. projecting or pointing outward:

   a salient angle.

3. leaping or jumping:

   a salient animal.

4. Heraldry. (of a beast) represented as leaping:

   a lion salient.

noun

1. a salient angle or part, as the central outward-projecting angle of a bastion or an outward projection in a battle line.
2. Physical Geography. a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain. Compare reentrant ( def 4 ).

salient

/ ˈseɪlɪənt /

adjective

1. prominent, conspicuous, or striking

   a salient feature

2. See re-entrant
   (esp in fortifications) projecting outwards at an angle of less than 180° Compare re-entrant
3. See re-entrant
   geometry (of an angle) pointing outwards from a polygon and hence less than 180° Compare re-entrant
4. (esp of animals) leaping

noun

1. military a projection of the forward line into enemy-held territory
2. a salient angle

Derived Forms

• ˈsalience, noun
• ˈsaliently, adverb

Other Words From

• sali·ent·ly adverb
• un·sali·ent adjective
• un·sali·ent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of salient¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin salient-, stem of saliēns “jumping,” present participle of salīre “to spring, jump”

Word History and Origins

Origin of salient¹

C16: from Latin salīre to leap

Example Sentences

And, with an estimated 70 million gay people in China, there has never been a more salient time to turn the corner.

From The Daily Beast

He is also known as El H, but of all his nicknames El Elegante is the most salient.

From The Daily Beast

One salient example was Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the highest-ranking al Qaeda commanders.

From The Daily Beast

But in the aggregate, immigration reform is not a salient issue for white evangelicals.

From The Daily Beast

When I sit down someday to write my memoirs and try to characterize this era, I will note three salient political features.

From The Daily Beast

She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.

From Project Gutenberg

His head leaned towards her with its salient thrust, its poise of impetus and forward flight.

From Project Gutenberg

It may not be unwise to review the grounds that we have been going over, and to glance at the salient points.

From Project Gutenberg

But General Lee abandoned the salient after dark, and put his whole force in the base line.

From Project Gutenberg

In this salient, now known as the “Bloody Angle,” occurred one of the most terrible hand-to-hand conflicts of modern warfare.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arresting
• conspicuous
• pertinent
• weighty