as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the brilliancy of the diamond is shown to good effect by the museum's lighting
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Recent Examples of brilliancy
So, astronomers have come up with a compromise regarding the geometry of the sun's illumination angle on Venus' disk versus its distance from Earth to determine the time of Venus' greatest brilliancy.
—
Joe Rao, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Family circles will have wrapped themselves in the holy pleasures of the great occasion, and everywhere the grand old holiday will have been introduced with all the majesty and brilliancy which clings around the hallowed name of Christmas.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
The Red Planet, shining at magnitude –1.4, is 40° to the east-northeast, and the king of planets, Jove, still near its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude –2.8, lies 46° west-southwest of Luna.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2022
Set emerald green against bright white to highlight its brilliancy.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Jan. 2022
Tonight also sees Venus is at greatest brilliancy, so get eyes-on with the second planet from the Sun right after sunset.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2021
One of these stars may rise from almost invisibility to a brilliance equaling 100,000,000 times the brilliancy of our sun, although, of course, such super novae are so far away that the estimates can be made only with telescopes.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 17 Dec. 2020
The truth is that in the history of chess, spanning more than a millennium, there hasn’t been a single human brilliancy, however wayward and unexpected, that a computer could not have located.
—Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
Joe Rao, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Family circles will have wrapped themselves in the holy pleasures of the great occasion, and everywhere the grand old holiday will have been introduced with all the majesty and brilliancy which clings around the hallowed name of Christmas.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
The Red Planet, shining at magnitude –1.4, is 40° to the east-northeast, and the king of planets, Jove, still near its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude –2.8, lies 46° west-southwest of Luna.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2022
Set emerald green against bright white to highlight its brilliancy.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Jan. 2022
Tonight also sees Venus is at greatest brilliancy, so get eyes-on with the second planet from the Sun right after sunset.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2021
One of these stars may rise from almost invisibility to a brilliance equaling 100,000,000 times the brilliancy of our sun, although, of course, such super novae are so far away that the estimates can be made only with telescopes.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 17 Dec. 2020
The truth is that in the history of chess, spanning more than a millennium, there hasn’t been a single human brilliancy, however wayward and unexpected, that a computer could not have located.
—Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brilliancy
Noun
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Both cameras capture good detail and color (for a tablet) without overdoing the brightness.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 May 2025
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Other steps to help reduce damage include face masks or glasses made to shield blue light, or just simply lowering the brightness of your phone.—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Few would deny the brilliance of Ousmane Dembele’s goal for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final’s first leg last month: a sweeping 26-pass move that carved through Arsenal.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
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But Bobrovsky, building off several big saves in overtime in Game 3, had moments of brilliance when shots did get to him, spurring the crowd to cheer him on.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
12 May 2025
Noun
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This million-dollar number comes in two versions, one in titanium and the other in Carbon TPT, a high-tech material that shares properties of lightness and resistance with those used in Formula 1 cars.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
2 May 2025
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Despite that lengthy maturation, there’s a lightness to the tequila and the palate has notes of dark chocolate, black pepper, leather, and some bright herbs on the finish.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brilliancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brilliancy. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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