salience

American  

[say-lee-uhns, sayl-yuhns] / ˈseɪ li əns, ˈseɪl jəns /

noun

1. the state or condition of being salient.

2. a salient or projecting object, part, or feature.

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Etymology

Origin of salience

First recorded in 1830–40; see origin at salient, -ence

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Explanation

Salience means importance. Your birthday will always be a date that jumps out at you with a lot of salience or importance. Salience comes from the Latin salire, meaning "to leap." Something with salience leaps out at you because it is unique or special in some way. This could be an issue — like health care reform, or a day — like 9/11, or even something someone said — like the State of the Union address. If it jumps out at you as remarkable or special, it's characterized by a quality of salience.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salience

The congressional voter poll results certainly suggest a remarkable degree of salience for a subject which likely would not have been on most Americans' radar five years ago.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Higher PAD was observed in the default mode network, as well as in the salience network, putamen and thalamus.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026

Following Seeley’s insight, others showed how changes in the salience network can be detected in schizophrenia and autism—conditions where patients lose awareness of social nuance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Prediction-market firms achieved massive growth and cultural salience in the U.S. through major events like the presidential election and Super Bowl.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

That may be due in part to the dull twilight in which the group is plunged, depriving all its lines of salience and relief.

From The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti by John Addington Symonds

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Related Words

• accuracy
• brightness
• certainty
• directness
• lucidity
• precision
• purity
• simplicity
• transparency

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