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
Early batik works from the 1970s are featured alongside her breakthrough acrylic paintings from the late 1980s, including Emu Woman (1988), a seminal canvas that catapulted her to national recognition.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Giddy gratification and gory glimpses of the ocean predators are plentiful this year, as is some frightening and fascinating footage of the summer season’s seminal scallywag.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 July 2025
Though Ireland’s Shane Lowry holds the current all-time low-score after shooting 63 en route to Open triumph in 2019 following extensive renovations to the course earlier that year, McIlroy’s teenage achievement endures as a seminal chapter of his fabled career.
—Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 16 July 2025
So, for the first time in the Name, Image and Likeness era of the sport, a seminal program looked beyond the family for help.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminal
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Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Giddy gratification and gory glimpses of the ocean predators are plentiful this year, as is some frightening and fascinating footage of the summer season’s seminal scallywag.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 July 2025
Though Ireland’s Shane Lowry holds the current all-time low-score after shooting 63 en route to Open triumph in 2019 following extensive renovations to the course earlier that year, McIlroy’s teenage achievement endures as a seminal chapter of his fabled career.
—Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 16 July 2025
So, for the first time in the Name, Image and Likeness era of the sport, a seminal program looked beyond the family for help.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminal
Cite this Entry
“Seminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seminal. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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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