brilliant
Americanadjective
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shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous.
the brilliant lights of the city.
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distinguished; illustrious.
a brilliant performance by a young pianist.
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having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc..
a brilliant technician.
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strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright.
brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.
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splendid or magnificent.
a brilliant social event.
noun
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Jewelry. a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.
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Printing. a size of type about 3½-point.
adjective
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shining with light; sparkling
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(of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid
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outstanding; exceptional
a brilliant success
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splendid; magnificent
a brilliant show
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of outstanding intelligence or intellect
a brilliant mind
a brilliant idea
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music
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(of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental
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Also: brilliant. brilliante. with spirit; lively
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noun
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Also called: brilliant cut.
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a popular circular cut for diamonds and other gemstones in the form of two many-faceted pyramids (the top one truncated) joined at their bases
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a diamond of this cut
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(formerly) a size of a printer's type approximately equal to 4 point
Usage
What does brilliant mean? Brilliant is commonly used to mean extremely intelligent, as in a brilliant mathematician or a brilliant idea. People considered geniuses are often described as brilliant in this way.It can also be used to describe something considered outstanding, exceptional, or magnificent, as in a brilliant performance. In the U.K., brilliant is often used in an informal way to mean excellent or awesome.These senses of brilliant are based on its more general meaning—shining brightly or sparkling. Bright sunshine can be described as brilliant in this way. A very sparkly gem such as a diamond could also be described as brilliant.In fact, the term brilliant cut refers to a type of cut used to increase the sparkliness of gems, especially diamonds. Brilliant can even be used as a noun to refer to such a diamond.Brilliant can also be used to mean vivid or vibrant. This sense of the word is especially used to describe colors and sounds that stand out due to being especially strong and clear.The noun brilliance refers to the quality of someone or something that is brilliant.Example: It was a brilliant performance from a brilliant musical mind.
Related Words
See bright.
Other Word Forms
- brilliantly adverb
- brilliantness noun
- overbrilliant adjective
- overbrilliantly adverb
- quasi-brilliant adjective
- quasi-brilliantly adverb
- unbrilliant adjective
- unbrilliantly adverb
- unbrilliantness noun
Etymology
Origin of brilliant
First recorded in 1675–85; from French brillant “shining,” present participle of briller “to shine,” from Italian brillare, perhaps either ultimately from Latin bēryllus beryl ( def. ) or derivative of an expressive root
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.
But this brilliant bit of dialogue doesn’t break Zlotowski’s spell; it enhances its power.
From Salon
"I wasn't going to be an archaeologist, I didn't even have an archaeology degree... but it becomes very addictive because the sites are so brilliant."
From BBC
She broke the Briton in the third game and had a chance for a 4-1 lead, but Raducanu replied with a handful of brilliant winners to avoid falling further behind.
From BBC
Here, across 12 minutes, the orchestra turns a four-note motif into a vivid tone poem—shifting moods and colors, restless movement, and a brilliant closing spotlight for virtuoso clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton.
But we should also recognize a brilliant social strategist who understood signaling equilibrium long before economists ever coined the term.
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.
