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 glittering.
Examples of brilliant in a Sentence
Adjective
a brilliant star in the sky
a store decorated in brilliant colors
He pitched a brilliant game.
She gave a brilliant performance.
She has a brilliant mind. Noun
the diamond cutter set out an array of brilliants to show the various ways the diamond could be cut
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Adjective
The growing number of robots in its warehouses is yet more evidence of this brilliant truth.—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025 My graduate school advisor, the brilliant Mary Sheriff, always insisted that scholarship had to follow the object, not the other way around.—Libby Buck
july 1, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025 That’s why these convenient travel sachets are beyond brilliant.—Brianna Peters, Vogue, 1 July 2025 Always a brilliant finisher, her move to Barcelona has turned her into more of an all-rounder, comfortable at linking play and creating space for others to burst into.—Michael Cox, New York Times, 30 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for brilliant
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
French brillant, present participle of briller to shine, from Italian brillare
Noun
borrowed from French brillant, noun derivative of brillantbrilliant entry 1
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