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.
"It's the very beginning of Baroque painting, depicting a crucified Christ, isolated, luminous and standing out vividly against a dark and threatening sky," he said.
From Barron's
This inconsistency doesn’t diminish the portion of Pissarro’s paintings that is luminous.
Mr. Loquasto’s pale, loosely clinging outfits for the men and women provide a celestial softness further enhanced by Ms. Tipton’s luminous lighting.
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.
From Salon
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.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
