preeminent

adjective

pre·​em·​i·​nent prē-ˈe-mə-nənt 

: having paramount rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding, supreme

preeminently adverb

Did you know?

What is noteworthy about the following sentence? "Denali Mountain is a prominent eminence on the Alaskan landscape." You very likely recognized two words that are closely related to preeminent: prominent and eminence. All three words are rooted in the Latin verb stem -minēre, meaning "to stand out." Mount is also a related word: it comes from Latin mont- or mons, meaning "mountain," which shares a common ancestor with -minēre. Mount leads us in turn to paramount, a word closely related in meaning to preeminent.

Synonyms

• arch
• big
• capital
• cardinal
• central
• chief
• dominant
• first
• foremost
• grand
• great
• greatest
• highest
• key
• leading
• main
• master
• number one
• No. 1
• numero uno
• overbearing
• overmastering
• overriding
• paramount
• predominant
• premier
• primal
• primary
• principal
• prior
• sovereign
• sovran
• supreme

Examples of preeminent in a Sentence

She's the preeminent chef in a city that has many good ones.

The poem is a preeminent example of his work.

Recent Examples on the Web

Claudio Monteverdi, the preeminent European composer of the early 17th century, was largely forgotten within decades of his death, in 1643. —Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024

Orange County’s preeminent Vietnamese politician is the Republican state senator Janet Nguyen, who came to California with her family as a refugee in 1981. —Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

Regardless of how the series is classified doesn’t discredit the fact that three preeminent English soccer voices are focusing their attention, analysis and expertise on the United States. —Michael Loré, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Jazzy Jay was one of the preeminent figures, and my sister used to date his homeboy. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin praeeminent-, praeeminens, from Latin, present participle of praeeminēre to be outstanding, from prae- + eminēre to stand out — more at eminent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

preeminent

adjective

pre·​em·​i·​nent prē-ˈem-ə-nənt 

: having supreme rank, dignity, or importance : outstanding

preeminently adverb