omnipresent
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
Omnipresent, ubiquitous refer to the quality of being everywhere. Omnipresent emphasizes in a lofty or dignified way the power, usually divine, of being present everywhere at the same time, as though all-enveloping: Divine law is omnipresent. Ubiquitous is applied to that which seems to appear in many and all sorts of places, or in an undignified or humorous way is “all over the place,” often when unwanted: A bore seems to be ubiquitous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of omnipresent
First recorded in 1600–10; from Medieval Latin omnipraesent- (stem of omnipraesēns ), equivalent to Latin omni- omni- + praesent- present 1
Explanation
Omnipresent describes something that's everywhere at once, like a deity. If your parents are constantly monitoring what you do, you may feel like they're omnipresent — and look forward to going to college somewhere far, far away. You might recognize the prefix omni-, meaning "all," from words like omnipotent ("all-powerful") or omniscient ("all-knowing"). Add it to present, and voilà, you have a word for something that's present all the time. You can't hide from an omnipresent being, and you can't escape an omnipresent smell. Language purists might prefer that a bad smell be described as ubiquitous ("turning up everywhere") and save the word omnipresent for the divine.
Vocabulary lists containing omnipresent
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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This Week In Culture: August 24–August 30, 2019
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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.
Is it the song that has become so omnipresent that many have become sick of it?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
"Any woman in her late 20s or 30s will have thought about children, it's omnipresent," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“The Odyssey” and all its accompanying discourse remain omnipresent, but we have been talking about it since Christopher Nolan’s casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy was revealed months ago.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
It was also likely a means to galvanize himself against how that experience alerted him to the omnipresent nearness of death.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
Lawrence can be seen seated with his hands clasped on the lower pole face, near the center of the photo, with the omnipresent Cooksey at his left.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
