prominent
Americanadjective
-
standing out so as to be seen easily; particularly noticeable; conspicuous.
Her eyes are her most prominent feature.
- Antonyms:
- inconspicuous, unobtrusive
-
standing out beyond the adjacent surface or line; projecting.
- Synonyms:
- protuberant, obvious
-
leading, important, or well-known.
a prominent citizen.
- Synonyms:
- distinguished, renowned, famed, famous, celebrated, eminent
adjective
-
jutting or projecting outwards
-
standing out from its surroundings; noticeable
-
widely known; eminent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prominent
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin prōminent- (stem of prōminēns ), present participle of prominēre “to project, stand out,” equivalent to pro- pro- 1 + -minēre; see imminent
Explanation
If you're looking for an adjective that means "sticking out above the rest; famous," consider prominent. A prominent person might be the big star, the head honcho, the top dog — not just any ordinary person. A prominence is anything that juts out, like a bone or a mountain ridge. Prominent, then, means "sticking out" either in a literal sense ("a prominent nose") or a figurative one ("a prominent figure in the industry"). The metaphorical sense of "famous" is the most common one today, so you're more likely to hear about prominent people than prominent noses.
Vocabulary lists containing prominent
List 1
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Power Prefix: pro
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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.
When prominent AI researcher Andrej Karpathy coined the term “vibe coding” in early 2025, he gave an explicit shoutout to Cursor.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026
Skrepetsky was known for his caricatures of Vladimir Putin and other prominent Russians, many of them Kremlin-linked.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
A change was readily noticeable when he returned to the podium, his lyrical and reflective sides more prominent, an organic quality to theater.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
“Many consumers prefer products advertised as free of preservatives and reasonably rely on prominent front-of-label and point-of-sale representations when making purchase decisions,” the plaintiffs argued.
From Salon • Jun. 17, 2026
In a separate correspondence about the same time with John Taylor, another prominent Virginia planter and political thinker who had also questioned Adams’s views on aristocracy, Adams called attention to the irony of the situation.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
