salient

[ sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt ]

/ ˈseɪ li ənt, ˈseɪl yənt /

adjective

prominent or conspicuous: salient traits.

projecting or pointing outward: a salient angle.

leaping or jumping: a salient animal.

Heraldry. (of a beast) represented as leaping: a lion salient.

noun

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

Physical Geography. a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain.Compare reentrant(def 4).

Nearby words

salicylic, salicylic acid, salicylism, salience, saliency, salient, salientian, salieri, saliferous, salifiable, salify

Origin of salient

1555–65; < Latin salient- (stem of saliēns, present participle of salīre to spring, jump), equivalent to sali- verb stem + -ent- -ent

SYNONYMS FOR salient

1 important; striking, remarkable.

ANTONYMS FOR salient

1 inconspicuous, unimportant.

Related forms

sa·li·ent·ly, adverbun·sa·li·ent, adjectiveun·sa·li·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for saliently

A lot has changed in those three weeks—most saliently, that Republican voters now clearly disagree with Coulter.
Michael Tomasky: After Saturday Night’s Debate, Is It the End of Mitt?|Michael Tomasky|December 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Though Joe Barton, who saliently said that President Obama was mistreating BP after the oil spill, also deserves consideration.
Give the People What They Want|Leslie H. Gelb|October 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This solicitude about little things is most saliently in evidence in the military domain.
England and Germany|Emile Joseph Dillon
The steamer was distinct but immaterial, saliently accentuated, as a phantom.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson

To Dale's mind, however, there was something else of a saliently differentiating character.
The Devil's Garden|W. B. Maxwell
It stands as saliently alone as a meteoric boulder in a meadow.
The Catholic World; Vol. IV.; October, 1866, to March, 1867.|E. Rameur
All the pictures, in gold frames, saliently depict faces and sundry accessories.
The Kingdom of God is Within You, What is Art|Lyof N. Tolstoi

British Dictionary definitions for saliently

salient

/ (ˈseɪlɪənt) /

adjective

prominent, conspicuous, or strikinga salient feature

(esp in fortifications) projecting outwards at an angle of less than 180°Compare re-entrant (def. 1)

geometry (of an angle) pointing outwards from a polygon and hence less than 180°Compare re-entrant (def. 2)

(esp of animals) leaping

noun

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

a salient angle

Derived Forms

salience or saliency, nounsaliently, adverb

Word Origin for salient

C16: from Latin salīre to leap

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012