illustrious

[ ih-luhs-tree-uhs ]

adjective

1. highly distinguished; renowned; famous:

   an illustrious leader.

   Synonyms: famed, eminent, celebrated

2. glorious, as deeds or works:

   many illustrious achievements.

3. Obsolete. luminous; bright.

illustrious

/ ɪˈlʌstrɪəs /

adjective

1. of great renown; famous and distinguished
2. glorious or great

   illustrious deeds

3. obsolete.
   shining

Derived Forms

• ilˈlustriousness, noun
• ilˈlustriously, adverb

Other Words From

• il·lustri·ous·ly adverb
• il·lustri·ous·ness noun
• unil·lustri·ous adjective
• unil·lustri·ous·ly adverb
• unil·lustri·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of illustrious¹

1560–70; < Latin illustri ( s ) bright, clear, famous (equivalent to illustr ( āre ) to brighten ( il- ¹, luster ¹ ) + -is adj. suffix) + -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of illustrious¹

C16: from Latin illustris bright, distinguished, famous, from illustrāre to make light; see illustrate

Example Sentences

Now, in the second act of their illustrious careers, Musk and Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon CEO in July but remains its executive chairman, are bound together over a series of ventures that could define their legacies.

From Washington Post

Just recently, Flutterwave joined the illustrious club that includes Jumia, Fawry, and Interswitch.

From TechCrunch

It’s a tough break for Swan, the former CFO who had a long and illustrious career in finance before ending up as the surprise pick for CEO at Intel almost exactly two years ago.

From Fortune

Previously, 2016 had held that illustrious title—and global warming records are getting broken faster and faster.

From Popular-Science

The illustrious Blue Ivy Carter has a resumé most adults would envy.

From Essence.com

The savvy forger with Pappy empties to fill might get his hands on some Old Weller and present it as its more illustrious cousin.

From The Daily Beast

And I realized that a man had to be pretty sure of himself, because she was quite an illustrious person.

From The Daily Beast

Terman and his assistant relied on biographical accounts of illustrious individuals to compute the scores.

From The Daily Beast

A few members of the real-life Bling Ring have had a more illustrious postscript than others.

From The Daily Beast

In The House of Rothschild, I identified at least three members of that illustrious financial dynasty as gay.

From The Daily Beast

William Pitt, earl of Chatham, a most illustrious English statesman, died.

From Project Gutenberg

Those illustrious heroes of antiquity became the companions of her solitude and of her hourly thoughts.

From Project Gutenberg

Disgusted with the frivolity of the living, she sought solace for her wounded feelings in companionship with the illustrious dead.

From Project Gutenberg

Jane was thus prepared by Providence for that career which she rendered so illustrious through her talents and her sufferings.

From Project Gutenberg

Her illustrious father found her when even a child as to age, quite his companion as to comprehension and mental capacities.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• distinguished
• eminent
• esteemed
• exalted
• famed
• glorious
• lofty
• noble
• outstanding
• remarkable
• renowned
• splendid
• well-known