brightness

noun bright·ness

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of brightness

1 a : the quality or state of being bright; also : an instance of such a quality or state

b : luminance

2 : the attribute of light-source colors by which emitted light is ordered continuously from light to dark in correlation with its intensity — compare hue 2c, ¹lightness 2, saturation 4

Examples of brightness in a Sentence

the brightness of the sunshine made me squint after an afternoon spent in a darkened movie theater

Recent Examples of brightness from the Web

Both are rated at 400 nits of brightness, but touch capabilities are available only in the 4K version.

— gordon mah ung, PCWorld, "Dell's updated XPS 15 could crush the MacBook Pro 15—again," 3 Apr. 2018
In black IPAs such as 21st Amendment Brewery’s Back in Black, fruity hops take on the chocolate-cherry bitter-brightness of light-roast espresso.

— william bostwick, WSJ, "Come Over to the Dark (Beer) Side," 23 Mar. 2018
Sunlight gives the shop an urban lunch-counter feel, and the same brightness infuses Vietnamese standards like spicy bun bo Hue soup, a delicate seafood-tomato soup called bun rieu and Berni’s No. 1 Pho with beef brisket, tendon and tripe.

— San Antonio Express-News, "Berni Vietnamese Restaurant," 8 Mar. 2018
By law, drivers cannot operate their vehicle if there is an object impairing their vision, if the rear window is obstructed and if objects impair the required brightness of their car lights.

— aleanna siacon, Detroit Free Press, "Driving a snow-covered car? You could be ticketed," 12 Feb. 2018
The astronomer is best known for discovering flare stars, red and blue stars that vary in brightness, in the Orion constellation.

— madeline buxton, refinery29.com, "Today's Google Doodle Celebrates Legendary Astronomer Guillermo Haro," 21 Mar. 2018
Haro discovered flare stars, variable stars which experience unpredictable surges in brightness.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "Google Doodle pays tribute to Mexican astronomer Guillermo Haro," 21 Mar. 2018
This can give MicroLED excellent contrast, power efficiency, and viewing angles without OLED's compromises on brightness or longevity.

— sam byford, The Verge, "Apple using secret US facility to develop MicroLED screens for Apple Watch," 19 Mar. 2018
Launched in 2009, Kepler is designed to scan the skies for planets by detecting the dip in brightness of their host stars as the planets pass in front.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Kepler Space Telescope Is Almost Out of Fuel," 15 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brightness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of brightness

before 12th century

brightness Synonyms

Medical Dictionary

brightness

noun bright·ness \ ˈbrīt-nəs \

medical Definition of brightness

: the one of the three psychological dimensions of color perception by which visual stimuli are ordered continuously from light to dark and which is correlated with light intensity — compare hue, saturation 4a