luminous

[loo-muh-nuhs]

adjective

1. radiating or reflecting light; shining; bright.

   Synonyms: brilliant, resplendent, radiant, lucid
   Antonyms: dark

2. lighted up or illuminated; well-lighted.

   the luminous ballroom.

   Antonyms: dark

3. brilliant intellectually; enlightened or enlightening, as a writer or a writer's works.

   a luminous concept; luminous prose.

   Synonyms: intelligent, bright
   Antonyms: stupid

4. clear; readily intelligible.

   a concise, luminous report.

   Synonyms: lucid, perspicuous, understandable
   Antonyms: obscure

luminous

/ ˈluːmɪnəs /

adjective

1. radiating or reflecting light; shining; glowing

   luminous colours

2. (not in technical use) exhibiting luminescence

   luminous paint

3. full of light; well-lit

4. (of a physical quantity in photometry) evaluated according to the visual sensation produced in an observer rather than by absolute energy measurements Compare radiant

   luminous flux

   luminous intensity

5. easily understood; lucid; clear

6. enlightening or wise

Other Word Forms

• luminously adverb
• luminousness noun
• nonluminous adjective
• nonluminously adverb
• nonluminousness noun
• self-luminous adjective
• semiluminous adjective
• semiluminously adverb
• semiluminousness noun
• unluminous adjective
• unluminously adverb
• unluminousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of luminous¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word lūminōsus. See lumen, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of luminous¹

C15: from Latin lūminōsus full of light, from lūmen light

Example Sentences

“It was from my parents,” she thought, luminous with joy.

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Mr. Loquasto’s pale, loosely clinging outfits for the men and women provide a celestial softness further enhanced by Ms. Tipton’s luminous lighting.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

What lingers, though — in both del Toro’s film and Shelley’s original — are the small, luminous moments where food becomes something more than sustenance.

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He receives his due — at times, veneration — for the luminous courage that held together a loose coalition of colonies against the world’s foremost military power.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The gem "of exceptional quality" was named after its "extremely rare" luminous and pure pink colour, Sotheby's said.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• brilliant 
• incandescent 
• lucid 
• lustrous 
• radiant 
• shining 
• translucent 
• vivid