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  • bright
    bright
    adjective
    radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining.
  • Bright
    Bright
    noun
    John, 1811–89, British statesman and economist.
Synonyms

bright

1 American  
[brahyt] / braɪt /

adjective

brighter, brightest
  1. radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining.

    The bright coins shone in the gloom.

    Synonyms:
    lambent, beaming, lucent, lustrous, effulgent, refulgent, radiant
    Antonyms:
    dim, dull
  2. filled with light.

    The room was bright with sunshine.

  3. vivid or brilliant.

    a bright red dress;

    bright passages of prose.

  4. quick-witted or intelligent.

    They gave promotions to bright employees.

    Synonyms:
    clever, ingenious, sharp-witted, sharp, discerning, keen
  5. clever or witty, as a remark.

    Bright comments enlivened the conversation.

  6. animated; lively; cheerful.

    a bright and happy child;

    a bird's bright song.

  7. characterized by happiness or gladness.

    All the world seems bright and gay.

  8. favorable or auspicious.

    bright prospects for the future.

    Synonyms:
    promising
  9. radiant or splendid.

    the bright pageantry of court.

  10. illustrious or glorious, as an era.

    the bright days of the Renaissance.

  11. clear or translucent, as liquid.

    The bright water trickled through his fingers.

  12. having a glossy, glazed, or polished finish.

  13. intensely clear and vibrant in tone or quality; clear and sharp in sound.

    a bright singing voice.


noun

  1. brights,

    1. the automobile or truck headlights used for driving at night or under conditions of decreased visibility.

    2. the brighter level of intensity of these lights, usually deflected upward by switching on a bulb in the headlamp that strikes the lens at a different angle.

  2. flue-cured, light-hued tobacco.

  3. an artist's paintbrush having short, square-edged bristles.

  4. Archaic. brightness; splendor.

adverb

brighter, brightest
  1. in a bright manner; brightly.

Bright 2 American  
[brahyt] / braɪt /

noun

  1. John, 1811–89, British statesman and economist.

  2. Richard, 1789–1858, English physician.


bright 1 British  
/ braɪt /

adjective

  1. emitting or reflecting much light; shining

  2. (of colours) intense or vivid

  3. full of promise

    a bright future

  4. full of animation; cheerful

    a bright face

  5. informal quick witted or clever

    a bright child

  6. magnificent; glorious

    a bright victory

  7. polished; glistening

    a bright finish

  8. (of the voice) distinct and clear

  9. (of a liquid) translucent and clear

    a circle of bright water

  10. very early in the morning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a thin flat paintbrush with a straight sharp edge used for highlighting in oil painting

  2. poetic brightness or splendour

    the bright of his armour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. brightly

    the fire was burning bright

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Bright 2 British  
/ braɪt /

noun

  1. John . 1811–89, British liberal statesman, economist, and advocate of free trade: with Richard Cobden he led the Anti-Corn-Law League (1838–46)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bright Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing bright


Synonym Usage

Bright, brilliant, radiant, shining refer to that which gives forth, is filled with, or reflects light. Bright suggests the general idea: bright flare, stars, mirror. Brilliant implies a strong, unusual, or sparkling brightness, often changeful or varied and too strong to be agreeable: brilliant sunlight. Radiant implies the pouring forth of steady rays of light, especially as are agreeable to the eyes: a radiant face. Shining implies giving forth or reflecting a strong or steady light: shining eyes.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of bright

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English breht, beorht; cognate with Gothic bairht(s), Old Saxon ber(a)ht, Old High German beraht, Old Norse bjartr; Welsh berth “splendid”; akin to Latin flagrāre “to blaze” ( see flagrant ( def. )), Albanian bardhë “white,” Sanskrit bhrājate “it shines”

Explanation

After a long, gray winter, it's hard to remember what a bright, sunny day is like. Bright means shining with light. The adjective bright is good for describing anything that emits, reflects, or is full of light — like the bright moon, the bright sky or the bright, well-lit room. Bright can also mean vivid or vibrant — such as a bright purple three-piece suit. More figuratively, bright means "full of hope or possibility" — like your bright future as a marine biologist.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing bright

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.

“CYR” is the follow-up to 2018’s “SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN” – Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin’s first collaborative album in 18 years.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 23, 2020

The Darewell Chums Or, The Heroes of the School A BRIGHT, lively story for boys, telling of the doings of four chums, at school and elsewhere.

From Fred Fenton on the Track or, The Athletes of Riverport School by Chapman, Allen

A BRIGHT, intelligent unbeliever in the Providential government of the world has just said to me in discussing this greatest of calamities which has occurred in our nation’s history, “Where is your benevolent God?”

From Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror by Linthicum, Richard

Over the street door a new sign has taken the place of the old one, and the passer-by reads,—   BAYARD & BRIGHT,   BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS.

From Now or Never by Optic, Oliver

Speeches by RUSSELL, PAM, and BRIGHT, Good for the heart and head.

From Punch, Or The London Charivari, Volume 102, March 19, 1892 by Various

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