brightness
Americannoun
-
the quality of being bright.
-
Optics. the luminance of a body, apart from its hue or saturation, that an observer uses to determine the comparative luminance of another body. Pure white has the maximum brightness, and pure black the minimum brightness.
noun
-
the condition of being bright
-
physics a former name for luminosity
-
psychol the experienced intensity of light
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of brightness
before 950; Middle English brihtnes, Old English beorhtnes. See bright, -ness
Vocabulary lists containing brightness
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Physics - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Physics - Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The rest accumulated slowly and, for the most part, logically: lemon zest for brightness, bacon for savory crunch, avocado for cool richness.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Fessler said Shields moved through the world with brightness and spontaneity in a constant journey of self-development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
For a hint of brightness, throw in lemon juice or dried citrus peel.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
A much-rumoured Kylie duet doesn't appear on Confessions II, but this would have been the perfect track for it; all brightness and light, with a loved-up lyric about a "movie star with deep blue eyes".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
There was only a dazzling brightness in a landscape such as he had never seen.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Using data from the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope, the researchers collected brightnesses for millions of stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two of the closest galaxies to Earth.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 15, 2023
This, they said, was consistent with quasars of different "brightnesses," meaning with varying strength to their radio emissions.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2023
Besides dramatically boosting the total number of known FRB events, the observations also revealed a very wide range of brightnesses among the recorded events, offering new clues about the astrophysical nature of their mysterious source.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 13, 2021
I had become fond of these orange poppies and their disintegration forces me to face inevitable endings and renunciations of all seasons, of all the sunlit fields I ever saw, of all brightnesses, persons, myself.
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2017
I look at the moons one more time, the smaller one chasing the larger one, two brightnesses up there, still light enough to cast shadows, ignorant of the troubles of men.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
