Cynosure
//ˈsɪnəzjʊə// name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Cynosure: Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators. alt-of
- 2 something that strongly attracts attention and admiration wordnet
- 3 That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star. figuratively
"let faith be your cynosure to walk by"
- 4 something that provides guidance (as Polaris guides mariners) wordnet
- 5 Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration. figuratively
"Meanwhile the fair young Queen, in her halls of state, walks like a goddess of Beauty, the cynosure of all eyes; as yet mingles not with affairs; heeds not the future; least of all, dreads it."
Proper Noun
- 1 Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
Example
More examples"I was the cynosure of every eye."
Etymology
From Middle French Cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynosūra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek Κυνόσουρα (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from κυνός (kunós, “dog's”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).
Related phrases
More for "cynosure"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.