salient

[sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt]

adjective

1. prominent or conspicuous.

   salient traits.

   Synonyms: remarkable, striking, important
   Antonyms: unimportant, inconspicuous

2. projecting or pointing outward.

   a salient angle.

3. leaping or jumping.

   a salient animal.

4. Heraldry.,  (of a beast) represented as leaping.

   a lion salient.

noun

1. a salient angle or part, as the central outward-projecting angle of a bastion or an outward projection in a battle line.

2. Physical Geography.,  a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain.

salient

/ ˈseɪlɪənt /

adjective

1. prominent, conspicuous, or striking

   a salient feature

2. (esp in fortifications) projecting outwards at an angle of less than 180° Compare re-entrant

3. geometry (of an angle) pointing outwards from a polygon and hence less than 180° Compare re-entrant

4. (esp of animals) leaping

noun

1. military a projection of the forward line into enemy-held territory

2. a salient angle

Other Word Forms

• saliently adverb
• unsalient adjective
• unsaliently adverb
• salience noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of salient¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin salient-, stem of saliēns “jumping,” present participle of salīre “to spring, jump”

Word History and Origins

Origin of salient¹

C16: from Latin salīre to leap

Example Sentences

But the newly salient issue is rising electricity rates.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Domestication syndrome - anatomical and morphological changes such as curly tails, floppy ears, depigmentation, smaller brains and reduced facial skeletons - are commonly cited as some of the most salient traits, the study says.

Read more on BBC

Specifically, Lawrence pointed to the issue of data center construction, which has become increasingly salient around the United States as artificial intelligence companies push to build power-hungry facilities to power their large language models.

Read more on Salon

In the end, though, senior officials agreed that the arguments for a quarter-point cut “were considered more salient.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“The salient point about the modern vintage of housing-related fraud is its integral place within our nation’s institutions,” he added.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• arresting 
• conspicuous 
• pertinent 
• weighty