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as in intelligent
having or showing quickness of mind a company that is always looking for bright, ambitious college graduates

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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bright

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adverb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective bright differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of bright are brilliant, luminous, lustrous, and radiant. While all these words mean "shining or glowing with light," bright implies emitting or reflecting a high degree of light.

When is brilliant a more appropriate choice than bright?

While the synonyms brilliant and bright are close in meaning, brilliant implies intense often sparkling brightness.

In what contexts can luminous take the place of bright?

While in some cases nearly identical to bright, luminous implies emission of steady, suffused, glowing light by reflection or in surrounding darkness.

When would lustrous be a good substitute for bright?

The meanings of lustrous and bright largely overlap; however, lustrous stresses an even, rich light from a surface that reflects brightly without glittering.

When might radiant be a better fit than bright?

Although the words radiant and bright have much in common, radiant stresses the emission or seeming emission of rays of light.

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bright
Adjective
The songs are bangers, the visuals are bright and engaging, and the women of HUNTR/X are every bit the superheroes that Superman and the Fantastic Four are. Erik Adams, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2025 The supermoon will be about 30% brighter and 14% larger than the average full moon, according to NASA. Mike Haskey, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2025 Fragrant, early to mid-season bloomer with bright, clear red double flowers. Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025 His big, bright smile, infectious energy and eternal positivity created a presence that continually uplifted others. Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bright
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bright
Adjective
  • The best shining example of something that was influenced by us is the British version of The Office.
    Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Attendees rode in support of and alongside community member Eva Zamora, who is a shining example of how to live your best life with Parkinson’s disease and takes cycle classes at EōS regularly, a news release stated.
    News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Saint Laurent, staged against the illuminated Eiffel Tower at night, delivered sheer theatricality, while Chanel transformed the Grand Palais into a galaxy, offering a spectacle as ambitious as the collection itself.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Today, those problems persist and are even more illuminated thanks to the government shutdown.
    Sydney Lake, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Their home is decorated with friendly pumpkins and paper bats, adding to the cheerful atmosphere.
    Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 10 Oct. 2025
  • His cheerful demeanor has returned, and the family is adjusting to life with EpiPens tucked in every bag.
    Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The company’s mission is to eliminate design errors and accelerate innovation through intelligent automation.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2025
  • His modernization was both intelligent and beautiful, rooted in Coco’s own starting point — menswear codes and techniques.
    Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • With Knight looking sharp and stonewalling several promising scoring chances, Boqvist delivered his fourth game-winning goal since signing with the Panthers before last season and ninth of his career.
    Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
  • As part of his homework, Hanke provided a systemic analysis that narrowed a list of 239 potential candidates to the 50 most promising choices.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The film turned out to be a critical success, garnering favorable reviews for its visually arresting style rather than just the acting or the plot.
    Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
  • These seemingly include greasing the wheels for other deals with his administration and installing executives favorable to the President and his culture wars agenda.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Has an outstanding technical skill set.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Cinematographer Carlos Catalan has worked on Broadchurch, Dope Girls, Murdered by My Boyfriend and Killing Eve, and production designer Dominic Hyman on The Witcher, The Last Kingdom and earned an Emmy for outstanding art direction on HBO’s The Pacific.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • There are also two new delightfully cute additions to the collection — a shiny gold pair that would look radiant on warm-tone complexions and a pair that’s as stylishly macabre as the others, only smaller in size.
    Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
  • But Roberts is certainly radiant, even if she’s not called on to do all that much.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bright.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bright. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

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