seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
ˈse-mə-nᵊl 
1
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge
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
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Set in the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy, Black Sails operates as a prequel of sorts to Robert Louis Stevenson’s seminal classic Treasure Island, centered on familiar faces like Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), Long John Silver (Luke Arnold), and Billy Bones (Tom Hopper).
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Emma Ecker: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is the seminal legislation in the United States that created our framework for addressing trafficking.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 29 July 2024
In the 1960s, the economist Anthony Downs wrote a seminal economics paper that codified the concept, which has been called the Iron Law of Congestion.
—David Zipper, Vox, 29 July 2024
But one text is given extra special treatment, and that is, of course, bell hooks’ seminal 1999 book of essays, which directly inspired Thomas’ title for her own inventory of love in its many forms.
—Wren Sanders, Them, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for seminal 
Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Emma Ecker: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is the seminal legislation in the United States that created our framework for addressing trafficking.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 29 July 2024
In the 1960s, the economist Anthony Downs wrote a seminal economics paper that codified the concept, which has been called the Iron Law of Congestion.
—David Zipper, Vox, 29 July 2024
But one text is given extra special treatment, and that is, of course, bell hooks’ seminal 1999 book of essays, which directly inspired Thomas’ title for her own inventory of love in its many forms.
—Wren Sanders, Them, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for seminal
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Dictionary Entries Near seminal
Cite this Entry
“Seminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seminal. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
seminal
adjective
sem·i·nal
ˈsem-ən-ᵊl
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal discharge
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