illustrious en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ɪˈlʌs.tɹɪ.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɪˈlʌs.tɹi.əs/ (General-American)
- [-ˈləs-] (General-American)
Etymology
From Latin illūstris (“bright, shining; distinguished, prominent, illustrious”) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, to denote possession or presence of a quality in any degree). Illūstris is derived from illūstrō (“to brighten, illuminate; to make famous or illustrious”), from in- (“in, inside”) + lūstrō (“to purify by making a sacrifice; to brighten, illuminate”) (from lūstrō (“purificatory sacrifice”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”) or *lewh₃- (“to wash”)).
Meanings
-
Admired, distinguished, respected, or well-known.
[Marcus] Rashford showed the fearless streak [Gareth] Southgate so admires with his constant willingness to run at Brazil's defence with pace, even demonstrating on occasion footwork that would not have been out of place from members of England's illustrious opposition.
2017 November 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0 – 0 Brazil”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 28 Mar 2018:A solid and substantial greatness of soul looks down, with a generous neglect, on the censures and applauses of the multitude, and places a man beyond the little noise and strife of tongues. Accordingly we find in ourselves a secret awe and veneration for the character of one who moves above us, in a regular and illustrious course of virtue, without any regard to our own good or ill opinions of him, to our reproaches or commendations.
1712 January 1 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, December 22, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 255; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, pages 127–128:Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years, it was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs!
1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 154:The ant has made himself illustrious / Through constant industry industrious. / So what? / Would you be calm and placid / If you were full of formic acid?
1941, Ogden Nash, “The Ant”, in The Face is Familiar: The Selected Verse of Ogden Nash, reprint edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Garden City Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 224:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most illustrious | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more illustrious | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
unadmired · unrespected · overlooked · forgotten · undistinguished
Deriveds
nonillustrious · illustriousness · unillustrious · illustriously
Relateds
Synonyms
admired · observable · reputable · eminent · illustrious · eminent · markworthy · revered · mentionable · esteemed · respected · signal · blessed · esteemed · forestanding · well-regarded · nameable · prominent · feared · remarkable · pass-remarkable · honoured · noteworthy · nameworthy · distinguished · sensational · priceless · sacred · distinguished · nameworthy · applauded · noticeable · outstanding · treasured · forestanding · namely · well-regarded · worthy · venerated · illustrious · valued · gloriful · glorious · sovereign · ponderable · notable · extraordinaire
Translations (64)
cmn 有名 (admired, respected, or well-known) · pl znamienity (admired, respected, or well-known) · cmn 輝煌 /辉煌 (admired, respected, or well-known) · gl egrexio (admired, respected, or well-known) · cs proslulý (admired, respected, or well-known) · et silmapaistev (admired, respected, or well-known) · de glorreich (admired, respected, or well-known) · cs vynikající (admired, respected, or well-known) · cmn 燦爛 /灿烂 (admired, respected, or well-known) · es ilustre (admired, respected, or well-known) · wa ilusse (admired, respected, or well-known) · nl illuster (admired, respected, or well-known) · cs význačný (admired, respected, or well-known) · cmn 優秀 /优秀 (admired, respected, or well-known) · mi taiea (admired, respected, or well-known) · gl escrarecido (admired, respected, or well-known) · it famoso (admired, respected, or well-known) · vi nổi tiếng (admired, respected, or well-known) · ru изве́стный (admired, respected, or well-known) · la illustris (admired, respected, or well-known) · nl roemrijk (admired, respected, or well-known) · cmn 著名 (admired, respected, or well-known) · et lugupeetav (admired, respected, or well-known) · et väljapaistev (admired, respected, or well-known) · pl wspaniały (admired, respected, or well-known) · io glorioza (admired, respected, or well-known) · vi lừng lẫy (admired, respected, or well-known) · sh znamenit (admired, respected, or well-known) · grc ἐπιφανής (admired, respected, or well-known) · et kuulus (admired, respected, or well-known) · vi có tiếng (admired, respected, or well-known) · sv illuster (admired, respected, or well-known) · mk про́славен (admired, respected, or well-known) · gl ilustre (admired, respected, or well-known) · vi rạng rỡ (admired, respected, or well-known) · ru знамени́тый (admired, respected, or well-known) · cmn 傑出 /杰出 (admired, respected, or well-known) · bg знатен (admired, respected, or well-known) · mk сла́вен (admired, respected, or well-known) · bg прославен (admired, respected, or well-known) · ar شَهِير (admired, respected, or well-known) · la pulchrum (admired, respected, or well-known) · hi प्रसिद्ध (admired, respected, or well-known) · io famoza (admired, respected, or well-known) · et auväärne (admired, respected, or well-known) · ar مَجِيد (admired, respected, or well-known) · ota ماجد (admired, respected, or well-known) · et hiilgav (admired, respected, or well-known) · hu előkelő (admired, respected, or well-known) · pt ilustre (admired, respected, or well-known) · fr illustre (admired, respected, or well-known) · ru сла́вный (admired, respected, or well-known) · es ínclito (admired, respected, or well-known) · vi vinh quang (admired, respected, or well-known) · de erlaucht (admired, respected, or well-known) · ca il·lustre (admired, respected, or well-known) · es preclaro (admired, respected, or well-known) · mk про́чуен (admired, respected, or well-known) · cs znamenitý (admired, respected, or well-known) · hi विख्यात (admired, respected, or well-known) · mk зна́менит (admired, respected, or well-known) · ru просла́вленный (admired, respected, or well-known) · bg знаменит (admired, respected, or well-known) · fi valovoimainen (admired, respected, or well-known)