prominent

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Projecting outward or upward from a line or surface; protuberant.
2. adj. Immediately noticeable; conspicuous. See Synonyms at noticeable.
3. adj. Widely known; eminent.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Standing out beyond the line or surface of something; jutting; protuberant; in high relief: as, a prominent figure on a vase.
2. In entomology: Raised above the general surface: as, prominent eyes.
3. Projecting horizontally: as, prominent angles of the prothorax. The head of au insect is said to be prominent when its upper surface is horizontal and continuous with that of the thorax.
4. Standing out so as to be easily seen; most visible or striking to the eye; conspicuous: as, the figure of a man is prominent in the picture.
5. Standing out from among the multitude; distinguished above others: as, a prominent citizen. Synonyms Projecting, bulging.
6. Eminent, leading.
7. n. A promontory.
8. n. One of certain bombycid moths; a tooth-back or pebble. The American red-humped prominent is Notodonta concinna; the European coxcomb prominent is N. camelina. Sec cut under Notodonta.

Wiktionary

1. adj. Standing out, or projecting; jutting; protuberant.
2. adj. Likely to attract attention from its size or position; conspicuous.
3. adj. Eminent; distinguished above others.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Standing out, or projecting, beyond the line surface of something; jutting; protuberant; in high relief.
2. adj. Hence; Distinctly manifest; likely to attract attention from its size or position; conspicuous.
3. adj. Eminent; distinguished above others.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
2. adj. conspicuous in position or importance