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Stella, the Latin word for "star," shines brightly in the word constellation, but stella words have been favored by scientists to describe earthly things as much as heavenly bodies. Stellar was once used to mean "star-shaped." That use is no longer current, but today biologists and geologists might use one of these synonyms: stellular, stellate, and stelliform. Poets, too, have looked to stella. John Milton used stellar in its infancy when he wrote in Paradise Lost "these soft fires … shed down their stellar virtue." Stellar shot into its leading role as a synonym of star (as when we say "stellar pupil") in the late 1800s.
Examples of stellar in a Sentence
Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
If history is any indication, this stellar earnings season and the ensuing May rally mean investors may be in for some rocky times ahead.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 2 June 2025
The list of accomplishments include the Rumble win, four graduations, two Boston Music Awards nominations (Rock Artist of the Year, New Artist), a Rock Artist win and stellar live performance at the BMAs.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 1 June 2025
Nightlife Stay up late for stellar stargazing from lookouts like the Vista House at Crown Point, a popular waystop among motorists since the early 1900s, who come to bask in the gorge’s grandeur.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Stellar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stellar. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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stellar
adjective
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