brilliantine
Americannoun
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an oily preparation used to make the hair lustrous.
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a dress fabric resembling alpaca.
noun
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a perfumed oil used to make the hair smooth and shiny
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a glossy fabric made of mohair and cotton
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of brilliantine
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.
I suppose it is a virtue that Merkin’s feisty, brilliantine writing makes much of what seems like little—it certainly means that the essays are adventures, veering in unexpected and profound directions.
From Slate • Sep. 11, 2014
One man, Diego Ortega, wears a layer of brilliantine so thick that his hair looks like a black patent-leather bathing cap.
From New York Times • Jul. 15, 2013
In Boston a do-it-yourselfer soaked his roof shingles in a preservative mixture of kerosene and 20 gallons of scented brilliantine, which he got from an aunt who was once in the cosmetics business.
From Time Magazine Archive
One high priestess to an Airedale basted her dog with beer and brilliantine to stiffen and shine its coat.
From Time Magazine Archive
She smelled his milky clots and the decay of his teeth and the citrus brilliantine in his hair, as if a grove of lemons lay hidden there.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
