as in center
a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest
during the Vietnam War the university's campus effectively became the area's omphalos for antiwar activity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of omphalos
In front of me was a black ovoid stone, known as the omphalos, set on the spot in Greek mythology where two eagles loosed by Zeus crossed paths at the earth’s nexus.
—
Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
While the temples have crumbled, seeing the omphalos gave me goose bumps, and left me awe-struck over Delphi’s sublime place in history.
—Liz Alderman, New York Times, 9 July 2019
Zeus marked the spot with a stone called the omphalos (navel), to signify the location’s centrality.
—National Geographic, 12 Mar. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for omphalos
Noun
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Functionality of these three branches and the commensurate endurance of individual liberty center squarely on society’s universal respect for the rule of law.—
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Xavier Edwards opened the bottom of the first with a double, and Kyle Stowers followed with a 421-foot home run to straightaway center, his first of the season.—
Noun
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In Arkansas, a 5-year-old was killed Saturday by storms in the capital of Little Rock.—
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The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had dominated the capital for most of the war, with the Sudanese army forced to set up a wartime hub at Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.—
Noun
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Since its founding in 1869, the university has turned Carbondale into a tiny cultural mecca and a powerful economic engine in an otherwise vast, rural region that has been battered by the decline of manufacturing and coal mining.—
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Critics of the loophole point to Walt Disney as among the first to take advantage of it decades ago when developing its tourist mecca of resorts and theme parks near Orlando.—
Noun
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There will always be a need for people to access information, and libraries are the hubs of the community.—
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Pandora shares shed 11% Thursday, hitting its lowest level in a year, on the announcement of 37% tariffs on its main production hub, Thailand.—
Noun
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Re-signing Bichette, who's eligible for free agency at the end of this season, would give Toronto a nucleus to build around for years.—
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The next step was to transfer a nucleus with the edited DNA into a dunnart ovum.—
Noun
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However, proponents believe navel pulling can offer all these benefits and enhance overall vitality.2 Much of this practice is rooted in Ayurveda, an alternative approach to medicine that has existed for thousands of years.—
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Today’s Wordle Etymology The word navel comes from Old English nafela, which traces back to Proto-Germanic nabōlą.—
Noun
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There’s also a pedestrian-only block called Pearl Street that will be a locus of activity.—
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One of the alleles at each locus is dominant and determines the traits, like coat color, portrayed in the dog.—
Cite this Entry
“Omphalos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/omphalos. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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