luminous
Americanadjective
-
radiating or reflecting light; shining; bright.
- Synonyms:
- brilliant, resplendent, radiant, lucid
- Antonyms:
- dark
-
lighted up or illuminated; well-lighted.
the luminous ballroom.
- Antonyms:
- dark
-
brilliant intellectually; enlightened or enlightening, as a writer or a writer's works.
a luminous concept; luminous prose.
- Synonyms:
- intelligent, bright
- Antonyms:
- stupid
-
clear; readily intelligible.
a concise, luminous report.
- Synonyms:
- lucid, perspicuous, understandable
- Antonyms:
- obscure
adjective
-
radiating or reflecting light; shining; glowing
luminous colours
-
(not in technical use) exhibiting luminescence
luminous paint
-
full of light; well-lit
-
(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
-
easily understood; lucid; clear
-
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
Etymology
Origin of luminous
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word lūminōsus. See lumen, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 1890, at Gravelines, just north of Calais, he painted four spare, gloriously luminous views that capture its canal’s sweeping vistas and endless skies, and all of them are here.
The event was exceptionally bright, and its light was further amplified by the gravity of a galaxy along the line of sight, making the distant explosion appear even more luminous.
From Science Daily
Two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy, in the house at the reviewed performance, gamely went along when Radcliffe briefly enlisted her luminous services.
From Los Angeles Times
Rarely used in jewelry, the dark navy of sodalite adds an unexpected layer of depth to Color Blossom’s existing luminous gemstone lineup.
From Los Angeles Times
One evening, he watched as a luminous hand took a sheet of paper he had previously marked and wrote while hovering “three or four inches from the carpet.”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
