1
as in glare
brightness created by light reflected from a surface
the emerald had a pure, icy green luminance
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2
as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the landscapes of the French painter Claude Lorraine have a unique luminance that no other artist has quite captured
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Recent Examples of luminance
The temperature of intermediate-mass quark-gluon plasma in the early universe was estimated to have been 3.25 trillion degrees Kelvin; a flaring black hole was observed to have a peak luminance equivalent to 10 trillion suns; and Earth’s magnetosphere is negative on the dawn side.
—
Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
This perhaps had something to do with the curious luminance of the boy’s face, as in paintings of saints, as though the glow were the emanation of grace.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
This process of measuring maximum and minimum luminance levels and color capabilities of each TV and then mapping signals to each TV model’s capabilities continues with Dolby Vision 2.
—John Archer, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Mobile photography shone bright for aurorae, and for capturing luminance from solar winds.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for luminance
Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
This perhaps had something to do with the curious luminance of the boy’s face, as in paintings of saints, as though the glow were the emanation of grace.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
This process of measuring maximum and minimum luminance levels and color capabilities of each TV and then mapping signals to each TV model’s capabilities continues with Dolby Vision 2.
—John Archer, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Mobile photography shone bright for aurorae, and for capturing luminance from solar winds.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for luminance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminance
Noun
-
The stars burn brightly here, shielded from light pollution and city glare, and the rock formations are eerily beautiful in silhouette.—
Tamara Gane,
Travel + Leisure,
15 June 2026
-
No glare or sunlight coming through onto the pitch as a result.—
Jim Barnes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Buyers can choose between the LCD and OLED models, with the latter offering higher peak brightness in HDR mode (900 nits versus 600 nits), but both support 120Hz refresh rates.—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
16 June 2026
-
The screens offer higher frame rates, greater brightness, deeper blacks and superior contrast ratios compared with conventional digital projectors.—
Marcus Lim,
Variety,
15 June 2026
Noun
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If your skin has been looking a little dull, dehydrated, or uneven after long days in the sun, this milky toner is here to restore your glow.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
19 June 2026
-
In one chilling early scene, the toys peek out Bonnie’s window and see all the houses around them lit up, from within, by the spectral glow of personal digital devices.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
The result is an incredible repository of vexations, bafflements, witticisms, and brilliancies.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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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
Noun
-
Then buff the steel with a dry cloth, wiping in the same direction as the metal's grain to bring back that gleam.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 June 2026
-
After a while, though, all the professions of sincerity and thanks, the constant invocations of the one true POTUS, and the worshipful exhibits upstairs give the whole place a cultish, nostalgic gleam.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
That England avoided what would have been an embarrassing last-sixteen exit to Slovakia was thanks mostly to the individual brilliance of Jude Bellingham, its attacking prodigy, who scissored in an acrobatic finish at the death.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
18 June 2026
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Your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency.—
Scott Bauer,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Our goal is to elicit that glint of recognition in another human being because something that felt good and true to us feels good and true to them at the same time.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
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Short-and-sweet patent pieces from Christian Siriano and Ferrari had a distinctly slick shine, while at Kate Barton, satin organza gave her flirty designs a glassy glint.—
InStyle,
InStyle,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The seaweed choux buns are cloudlike in their lightness.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
16 June 2026
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Here, Elliott Gould brings a deft touch to his hang-dog detective Philip Marlowe, moving with a lightness that's hard to pin down but is undeniably comic.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Luminance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminance. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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