illustrious
Americanadjective
-
highly distinguished; renowned; famous.
an illustrious leader.
- Synonyms:
- famed, eminent, celebrated
-
glorious, as deeds or works.
many illustrious achievements.
-
Obsolete. luminous; bright.
adjective
-
of great renown; famous and distinguished
-
glorious or great
illustrious deeds
-
obsolete shining
Other Word Forms
- illustriously adverb
- illustriousness noun
- unillustrious adjective
- unillustriously adverb
- unillustriousness noun
Etymology
Origin of illustrious
1560–70; < Latin illustri ( s ) bright, clear, famous (equivalent to illustr ( āre ) to brighten ( il- 1, luster 1 ) + -is adj. suffix) + -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is no surprise Messi joins long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in such an illustrious group.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
These days, the less illustrious Italian-Americans are simply glad to be wearing “Italia” across their chests.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Griezmann currently plays for Atletico Madrid, where he is the Spanish club's all-time leading scorer, and also scored 44 goals in an illustrious career for his international side.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
Like many illustrious figures, the cowboy turns out to be a more nuanced individual than the often one-dimensional representations of the silver screen.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
No matter how much I appeared to have changed—how illustrious my education, how altered my appearance—I was still her.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
