Word a Day
illustrious
What does illustrious mean?
illustrious (adjective): admired, distinguished, respected, or well-known.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use illustrious in a sentence?
- That poodle has an immaculate pedigree, with illustrious ancestors on both sides stretching back generations. (Tatoeba sentence #5816166 by AlanF_US, CC BY 2.0 FR)
How do you pronounce illustrious?
/ɪˈlʌstɹiəs/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does illustrious come from?
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).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “illustrious”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “illustrious” mean?
native to a land, especially before colonization
Not quite: that's what indigenous means.
admired, distinguished, respected, or well-known
Right! That's what “illustrious” means.
connected with or belonging to or used in a navy
Not quite: that's what naval means.
satisfying aesthetic standards and sensibilities
Not quite: that's what artistic means.
Learn a word like “illustrious” every day
Word a Day for iPhone quizzes you on a few new words a day and brings each one back for review at growing intervals. Free, no account, no ads.
Coming soon to the App Store