Main Entry: ¹bright

Pronunciation: \ˈbrīt\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English beorht; akin to Old High German beraht bright, Sanskrit bhrājate it shines

Date: before 12th century

1 a : radiating or reflecting light : shining, sparkling <bright lights> <bright eyes> b : sunny <a bright day>; also : radiant with happiness <bright smiling faces> <bright moments>
2 : illustrious, glorious <brightest star of the opera>
3 : beautiful
4 : of high saturation or lightness <bright colors>
5 a : lively, cheerful <be bright and jovial among your guests — Shakespeare> b : intelligent, clever <a bright idea> <bright children>
6 : auspicious, promising <bright prospects for the future>

— bright adverb

— bright·ly adverb

synonyms bright, brilliant, radiant, luminous, lustrous mean shining or glowing with light. bright implies emitting or reflecting a high degree of light. brilliant implies intense often sparkling brightness. radiant stresses the emission or seeming emission of rays of light. luminous implies emission of steady, suffused, glowing light by reflection or in surrounding darkness. lustrous stresses an even, rich light from a surface that reflects brightly without sparkling or glittering.