brilliant

[ bril-yuhnt ]

adjective

1. shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous:

   the brilliant lights of the city.

2. distinguished; illustrious:

   a brilliant performance by a young pianist.

3. having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.:

   a brilliant technician.

4. strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright:

   brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.

5. splendid or magnificent:

   a brilliant social event.

noun

1. Jewelry. a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.
2. Printing. a size of type about 3½-point.

brilliant

/ ˈbrɪljənt /

adjective

1. shining with light; sparkling
2. (of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid
3. outstanding; exceptional

   a brilliant success

4. splendid; magnificent

   a brilliant show

5. of outstanding intelligence or intellect

   a brilliant idea

   a brilliant mind

6. music
   1. (of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental
   2. Alsobrilliantbrijɑ̃brilliantebrijɑ̃t with spirit; lively

noun

1. Also calledbrilliant cut
   1. a popular circular cut for diamonds and other gemstones in the form of two many-faceted pyramids (the top one truncated) joined at their bases
   2. a diamond of this cut
2. (formerly) a size of a printer's type approximately equal to 4 point

Derived Forms

• ˈbrilliantly, adverb

Other Words From

• brilliant·ly adverb
• brilliant·ness noun
• over·brilliant adjective
• over·brilliant·ly adverb
• quasi-brilliant adjective
• quasi-brilliant·ly adverb
• un·brilliant adjective
• un·brilliant·ly adverb
• un·brilliant·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brilliant¹

First recorded in 1675–85; from French brillant “shining,” present participle of briller “to shine,” from Italian brillare, perhaps either ultimately from Latin bēryllus beryl ( def ) or derivative of an expressive root

Word History and Origins

Origin of brilliant¹

C17: from French brillant shining, from briller to shine, from Italian brillare , from brillo beryl

Synonym Study

See bright.

Example Sentences

Alan Owen, one of the leaders of the men’s campaign said the decision was a “brilliant” step forward after years of battles for answers.

From BBC

We need answers and if John Healey can deliver them, then brilliant.”

From BBC

Ronan: What I’ve always really loved about making films and working on brilliant scripts is that there’s incredible dialogue that has been written for you and you can just completely sort of crack it open and indulge in it and find your way through it and find the sort of musical beats of it as you go.

From Los Angeles Times

And so, because of that, we would sit down and we would have five-hours-long script meetings where she was brilliant and she would really encourage me to put things into my own words and flesh them out.

From Los Angeles Times

What was brilliant about that, especially after coming off of “The Outrun,” I wasn’t in every day, I wasn’t the lead.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accomplished
• astute
• bright
• gifted
• ingenious
• inventive
• sharp
• smart
• talented