different between momentous vs conspicuous

English

Etymology

From moment +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /m???m?n.t?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mo??m?n.t?s/
• Rhymes: -?nt?s

Adjective

momentous (comparative more momentous, superlative most momentous)

1. Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.
   • 1725, Daniel Defoe, Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business:

     The reason why I did not publish this book till the end of the last sessions of parliament was, because I did not care to interfere with more momentous affairs.

   • 1831, James Fenimore Cooper, Homeward Bound, ch. 31:

     "It has been a momentous month, and I hope we shall all retain healthful recollections of it as long as we live."

   • 1902, Joseph Conrad, The End of the Tether, ch. 3:

     What to the other parties was merely the sale of a ship was to him a momentous event involving a radically new view of existence.

   • 2007 July 1, Richard Dawkins, "Inferior Design," New York Times (retrieved 19 Nov 2013):

     Natural selection is arguably the most momentous idea ever to occur to a human mind, because it — alone as far as we know — explains the elegant illusion of design that pervades the living kingdoms and explains, in passing, us.

Derived terms

• momentously
• momentousness

Translations

Anagrams

• mesonotum

English

Etymology

From Latin conspicuus (“visible, striking”), from c?nspicere (“to notice”), from con- (“with, together”) + specere (“to look at”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?sp?k.ju.?s/

Adjective

conspicuous (comparative more conspicuous, superlative most conspicuous)

1. Obvious or easy to notice.
2. Noticeable or attracting attention, especially if unattractive.
   • 1969, Saul Bellow, Mr Sammler's Planet, Penguin Books Ltd, page 6:

     For his height he had a small face. The combination made him conspicuous.

Synonyms

• (easy to notice): observable, perceivable; see also Thesaurus:perceptible
• (attracting attention): flashy, prominent

Antonyms

• (all): inconspicuous

Related terms

• conspicuity
• conspicuousness

Translations

Further reading

• w:Conspicuous consumption
• w:Conspicuous leisure
• conspicuous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• conspicuous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• conspicuous at OneLook Dictionary Search