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
Derived 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.
Other prominent athletes who became his patients include former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and star NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
A prominent software executive is jumping to the chips sector, a move that could give investors more reason to do the same.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
During that interview, she spoke about escaping a proposed child marriage, seeking asylum in Britain and eventually becoming one of the most prominent women in Sierra Leone.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Even the neuroscientist Anil Seth, one of the most prominent skeptical voices on AI consciousness, concedes there is “no knockdown argument” that consciousness requires a biological substrate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
But by straining to recover the factual ingredients in the story, we have inadvertently ignored the most obvious question—namely, what were these two prominent American statesmen doing on the ledge in the first place?
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.
