having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
"an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom"
"a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book"
"salient traits"
"a spectacular rise in prices"
"a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center"
"a striking resemblance between parent and child"
standing out, or projecting; jutting; protuberant
"The surgeon carefully smoothed the patient's cheek to reduce the prominent bone that was causing discomfort."
In plain English: Prominent means standing out clearly because you are very important, noticeable, or famous.
"The prominent hill towered above all the other buildings in the city."
Usage: Use prominent to describe people who are well-known in their field or physical features that stand out clearly from the background. Avoid confusing it with words like famous when referring specifically to visible protrusions such as a nose or chin.
The word comes from the obsolete French prominent, which was borrowed from Latin. Originally meaning "to jut out" or "project," it entered English with that same sense of sticking out beyond what is normal.