brilliant

[bril-yuhnt]

adjective

1. shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous.

   the brilliant lights of the city.

2. distinguished; illustrious.

   a brilliant performance by a young pianist.

3. having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc..

   a brilliant technician.

4. strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright.

   brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.

5. splendid or magnificent.

   a brilliant social event.

noun

1. Jewelry.,  a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.

2. Printing.,  a size of type about 3½-point.

brilliant

/ ˈbrɪljənt /

adjective

1. shining with light; sparkling

2. (of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid

3. outstanding; exceptional

   a brilliant success

4. splendid; magnificent

   a brilliant show

5. of outstanding intelligence or intellect

   a brilliant mind

   a brilliant idea

6. music

   1. (of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental

   2. Also: brilliant.  brilliante. with spirit; lively

noun

1. Also called: brilliant cut. 

   1. 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

   2. a diamond of this cut

2. (formerly) a size of a printer's type approximately equal to 4 point

Other Word Forms

• brilliantly adverb
• brilliantness noun
• overbrilliant adjective
• overbrilliantly adverb
• quasi-brilliant adjective
• quasi-brilliantly adverb
• unbrilliant adjective
• unbrilliantly adverb
• unbrilliantness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brilliant¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brilliant¹

C17: from French brillant shining, from briller to shine, from Italian brillare , from brillo _beryl

Synonym Study

See bright.

Example Sentences

The 25-year-old capped off a brilliant display with a thunderous strike which flew into the top left corner on the stroke of half-time, confirming a 3-0 win for City.

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This mimicry was at the heart of his brilliant comedy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While she said Sir Keir "has done an unbelievably brilliant job at turning the Labour Party around" she said whether he should continue at Downing Street "is really under debate at the moment".

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And the Department for Education adds that it is determined to deliver a brilliant education for every child by "shining a light on what's working and driving change".

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She is that rare talent: a superb singer—she was classically trained, by the same voice teacher as Kelli O’Hara, who also hails from Oklahoma—and a brilliant comedian.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bright 
• dazzling 
• flashy 
• intense 
• luminous 
• radiant 
• scintillating 
• sparkling 
• vivid 

When To Use

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.