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.
These days, the less illustrious Italian-Americans are simply glad to be wearing “Italia” across their chests.
A mention of the illustrious bird-of-paradise flower elicits coos and awe from the women.
From Los Angeles Times
He began his religious instruction at 4 and continued his studies at the revered hawza, a network of illustrious seminaries.
From Los Angeles Times
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
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
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.
