as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the exceptional effulgence of the harvest moon is always a striking sight
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Recent Examples of effulgence
Though the Star of Bethlehem has sunk, yet its sacred effulgence beams forth periodically, again and again, and a universe is filled with joy in honor of the Great Redeemer.
—
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
Maggie Rogers paired her of-the-moment shag with natural notes—bare skin, freckles, grass—as elsewhere, Elle Fanning enjoyed the lit effects of golden hour, which took her complexion and blanched blonde to new levels of effulgence.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 July 2022
Absent from Van Noten’s three-decade career are stories of bankruptcy, strife, irresponsibility, overleverage, overexpansion, overspending or unhinged, dangerous effulgence.
—Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
Maggie Rogers paired her of-the-moment shag with natural notes—bare skin, freckles, grass—as elsewhere, Elle Fanning enjoyed the lit effects of golden hour, which took her complexion and blanched blonde to new levels of effulgence.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 July 2022
Absent from Van Noten’s three-decade career are stories of bankruptcy, strife, irresponsibility, overleverage, overexpansion, overspending or unhinged, dangerous effulgence.
—Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effulgence
Noun
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To put its change in brightness into perspective, the brightest observed x-ray flare from Sagittarius A* happened in 2013, but that event had only 1 percent of the brightness of what the black hole may have emitted perhaps as recently as a few hundred years ago, Michail says.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
13 Jan. 2026
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This summer, the Lab was chock full of gear, with clever, innovative tests for everything from backpack comfort to headlamp brightness.—
Adam Trenkamp,
Outside,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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As Amadeus’ brilliance continues to flourish in spite of his personal demons, a questionable reputation and skepticism from the conservative court, Salieri becomes increasingly tormented by this apparent divine gift.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
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With brilliance and connection at her core, the ship was created to give all guests the freedom to vacation their very own way – offering the chance to exhale, connect and effortlessly escape into the moment.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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To assess the roots, carefully remove the plant from its pot and examine them for firmness, lightness, and suppleness.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
8 Jan. 2026
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But with Rawayana, depth is always masked by lightness.—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effulgence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effulgence. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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