seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
| \ ˈse-mə-nᵊl
\
\
Definition of seminal
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from seminal
seminally
\ ˈse-mə-nᵊl-ē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of seminal in a Sentence
Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2000 for his seminal observation that it was in the action of the synapses between cells that memory existed, not in the cells themselves, and that a molecule called cyclic AMP was what allowed cells to retain memory over the long term.
— Michael Greenberg, New York Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2008
Writer Susan Sontag died December 28 at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. She left behind an impressive body of fiction and criticism, including her seminal 1960s essays "Notes on Camp" and "Against Interpretation."
— Allan Gurganus, Advocate, 1 Feb. 2005
I wonder if the curators who organized "Matisse Picasso" ever asked themselves why it was that Alfred H. Barr Jr., the first director of the Museum of Modern Art and the guiding spirit behind the museum's seminal exhibitions of both Picasso and Matisse, never mounted a show like the one that has now arrived at MoMA QNS. Such an exhibition might seem to be logical, almost inevitable for the Museum of Modern Art.
— Jed Perl, New Republic, 3 Mar. 2003
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Auburn’s quarterbacks won’t go live during the team’s first fall scrimmage, but Thursday’s practice inside Jordan-Hare Stadium could be the seminal moment of fall camp for the Tigers’ offense. — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, "1st scrimmage looms large in Auburn quarterback race, but Joey Gatewood, Bo Nix won’t go live," 7 Aug. 2019 But despite those seminal laws, often no one's watching. — Mary Jo Pitzl, azcentral, "These courts must protect kids' privacy. They also must be public. Can it be done?," 31 July 2019 For this gig, she’s joined by bassist Essiet Okon Essiet, who put in a seminal stint in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and alto saxophonist Jon Gordon, a fleet and fiery improviser too rarely heard in the Bay Area. — Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, "10 top acts highlight the 30th San Jose Jazz summer fest," 30 July 2019 Northern Pass was seminal in Eversource’s formation, by bringing together the top executives of predecessor utilities NStar and Northeast Utilities. — Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, "Wind victory comes at just the right time for Eversource," 21 July 2019 Dickerson had won the Circle’s 1989 Best Cinematography Award for Do the Right Thing and gone on to direct seminal hip-hop features Juice and Tales from the Hood. — Armond White, National Review, "The New York Times’ Black-Film Roundtable Ignores Black American Excellence," 10 July 2019 Adding to the argument is the advent of clothing rental services, seminal amongst them Rent the Runway, which today announced a new drop-off partnership with Nordstrom. — Sangeeta Singh-kurtz, Quartzy, "People don’t care if their clothes are new anymore," 28 June 2019 His dispatches from the European Union’s headquarters there were seminal in increasing anti-E.U. sentiment in Britain. — Billy Perrigo, Time, "Boris Johnson Is Likely to Be Britain's Next Prime Minister. Who Is He?," 21 June 2019 Nearly 100 years ago, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd wrote a seminal book on the subject and revolutionized the investing business. — Thomas Heath, Washington Post, "Picking stocks, like picking ballplayers, can get complicated," 19 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seminal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for seminal
seminal
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of seminal
formal
: having a strong influence on ideas, works, events, etc., that come later : very important and influential
medical
: of or containing semen
See the full definition for seminal in the English Language Learners Dictionary
seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
| \ ˈsem-ən-ᵊl
\
\
Medical Definition of seminal
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge
Keep scrolling for more