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

In John Banville’s novel, the luminous city of Venice becomes a sinister maze for a newly married writer.

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Most massive stars that explode as supernovae are the brightest and most luminous objects in the sky.

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Ryan Roberts is the new principal oboe, and he had a luminous solo in the “Alpine.”

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She structures her book as a travelogue, skipping from continent to continent; each chapter’s a banger, rendered in a luminous translation by Megan McDowell.

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The luminous, pink color spreading across the Santa Monica Bay is from a temporary, nontoxic dye that researchers are using to study how ocean circulation might contribute to the bay’s poor water quality.

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Related Words

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