splendor

[ splen-der ]

noun

1. brilliant or gorgeous appearance, coloring, etc.; magnificence:

   the splendor of the palace.

   Synonyms: dash, show

   Antonyms: squalor

2. an instance or display of imposing pomp or grandeur:

   the splendor of the coronation.

3. grandeur; glory; brilliant distinction:

   the splendor of ancient Greek architecture.

   Synonyms: celebrity, renown, eminence, fame

4. great brightness; brilliant light or luster.

   Synonyms: refulgence, dazzle

verb (used with object)

1. to make splendid by decorating lavishly; adorn.

verb (used without object)

1. to move or proceed with splendor, grandeur, or pomp.

Other Words From

• splendor·ous splen·drous [splen, -dr, uh, s], adjective
• outsplendor verb (used with object)
• un·splendor·ous adjective
• un·splendor·ous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of splendor¹

1400–50; < Latin splendor, equivalent to splend ( ēre ) to shine + -or -or ¹; replacing late Middle English splendure < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Straight from the times of the Peloponnesian War, monuments and temples loom in their original splendor.

From Washington Post

This splendor is complemented by immense quietude, like nothing I have experienced in months.

From Washington Post

It is all around us, if we practice looking for its small splendors.

From Outside Online

Brad Wetzler’s adventure road trip through the Silver State turns up a secret-stash playground of backcountry splendor, high-end diversions, and a horizon that never stops beckoning.

From Outside Online

In that sense, how life works on Earth, for all of its multivariate splendor across billions of years, may be highly constrained by the specifics of planetary composition and change, from the chemical milieu to asteroid impacts.

From Nautilus

I had already read the books, but after the TV show came out, I was amazed by the splendor of the costumes.

From The Daily Beast

Insulated from ruin, networked into success, failing upward and retiring in splendor are commonplace.

From The Daily Beast

He caught wind that Kazan was working on a film about college kids called Splendor in the Grass, and wanted in.

From The Daily Beast

The ceremony at the Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square should be a model of stately splendor.

From The Daily Beast

Watch the sky around the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, explode with splendor.

From The Daily Beast

He was distinguished for personal courage, as well as taste for elegance and splendor, whence he was called the munificent.

From Project Gutenberg

Avoid also speaking of any house where you may have been a guest in terms of overpraise, giving glowing pictures of its splendor.

From Project Gutenberg

His very genius and splendor pails upon one, even taking the pictures as worldly pictures.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a great building in the Georgian style, rather plain from the outside, but the interior is furnished in great splendor.

From Project Gutenberg

And Nerto is taken to the Pope, whom she finds sadly enthroned in all his splendor, and brings him the news of a means of escape.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brilliance
• grandeur
• luster
• magnificence
• majesty
• pomp
• richness