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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brilliants
plural
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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.
Synonym Usage
See bright.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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brilliantnessnoun
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unbrilliantnessnoun
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overbrilliantadjective
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quasi-brilliantadjective
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unbrilliantadjective
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brilliantlyadverb
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overbrilliantlyadverb
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quasi-brilliantlyadverb
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unbrilliantlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
Brilliant describes something super bright, like intense lights at a football stadium, a super sparkly diamond, or the student who graduates from Harvard at age 13. Brilliant comes from the Italian word brillare, to "sparkle" like those bright lights, diamonds, and brainiac kid. British people love to say things are "Brilliant!" in the same way Americans say "Awesome!" Brilliant describes anything sparkly, fabulous, or full of light. A bright color is brilliant, too, like the brilliant orange of a setting sun.
Vocabulary lists containing brilliant
All Aglow: Light Lingo
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Bright Ideas: Synonyms For "Smart"
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"Casey at the Bat"
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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:
Justice Alito characterizes Mr. Calabresi as “quite a brilliant originalist scholar” and clearly regards his analysis as an honest mistake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Linus Pauling was one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Sam writes that it’s a brilliant, funny, and blood-soaked manifesto on how to love people who have less-than-perfect politics.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Make it brilliant white, with gold piping and epaulets, and I guarantee he’d wear it.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Her ear for languages made her a brilliant mimic of all types of sounds.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Five days a week, 14 hours a day, he squints through nine newspapers and bends over his typewriter like a jeweler, chipping and polishing at the hard little brilliants for his program.
From Time Magazine Archive
The peasants, quivering with avarice, scuttle off to the appointed spot and dig up the treasure: an iron casket crammed with smoldering brilliants.
From Time Magazine Archive
Suddenly, just before it was to be hoisted in place above the Virgin's portrait, sharp-eyed Archbishop Diaz saw two brilliants tumble to the altar.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hung against her poop like a great comb of brilliants, a huge electric sign F-R-A-N-C-E made the French Liner France a vessel unique as she moved through her Mediterranean cruise last' week.
From Time Magazine Archive
She was found dead, attired in one of her most gorgeous dresses, decorated with brilliants, and lying on her golden bed.—Winslow:
From The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women (Real and Traditional) by Frederic Rowland Marvin
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.
