brilliant

[ bril-yuhnt ]

/ ˈbrɪl yənt /

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See synonyms for: brilliant / brilliants / brilliantly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous: the brilliant lights of the city.

distinguished; illustrious: a brilliant performance by a young pianist.

having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.: a brilliant technician.

strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright: brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.

splendid or magnificent: a brilliant social event.

noun

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

Printing. a size of type about 3½-point.

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Origin of brilliant

1675–85; <French brillant shining, present participle of briller<Italian brillare to glitter (perhaps derivative of an expressive root); see -ant

synonym study for brilliant

1. See bright.

OTHER WORDS FROM brilliant

bril·liant·ly, adverbbril·liant·ness, nouno·ver·bril·liant, adjectiveo·ver·bril·liant·ly, adverb

quasi-brilliant, adjectivequa·si-bril·liant·ly, adverbun·bril·liant, adjectiveun·bril·liant·ly, adverbun·bril·liant·ness, noun

Words nearby brilliant

briki, brill, Brillat-Savarin, brilliance, brilliancy, brilliant, brilliant cresyl blue, brilliant cut, brilliant green, brilliantine, Brillo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

MORE ABOUT BRILLIANT

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.

Where does brilliant come from?

The first records of the word brilliant come from around 1680. It comes from the French brillant, meaning “shining,” from the French verb briller, “to shine.”

Brilliant was originally used as a way to describe things that literally shine or sparkle, such as the sun or a diamond. Eventually, it started to be used to describe people with shining intellects.

Brilliant cut diamonds are those that are cut in a way that’s intended to maximize their brilliance—a large number of facets are added in order to better catch the light and reflect it back.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to brilliant?

brilliantly (adverb)
brilliance (noun)

What are some synonyms for brilliant?

What are some words that share a root or word element with brilliant?

brilliant cut

What are some words that often get used in discussing brilliant?

How is brilliant used in real life?

Brilliant is usually used in a positive way. It’s especially used to describe very smart people and things that shine.

I started listening to “The Pale Blue Dot” by Carl Sagan on audio book today. I just want Carl Sagan to narrate every aspect of my life. What a brilliant and empathetic mind.

— THE HOOSK IS LOOSE (@WolfenDeschain) October 6, 2020

Top of the Wold. 2 c. after an early frost. Brilliant sunshine. Skylarks. pic.twitter.com/cEMHj9ZuBc

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) April 7, 2020

Today's all about punctuation: dress simply, choose one brilliant color – and let it burst in the most unexpected of ways…

— Bergdorf Goodman (@Bergdorfs) July 15, 2010

Try using brilliant!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of brilliant?

A. shining
B. gloomy
C. bright
D. vibrant

How to use brilliant in a sentence

That was the brilliant idea at the heart of the film Arrival.
Talking Is Throwing Fictional Worlds at One Another - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Kevin Berger|September 9, 2020|Nautilus
We had a brilliant team that figured out often with duct tape and chicken wire in the early days how to get things up and running.
Pete Buttigieg Says Dems Did Not Coordinate to Seal Biden’s Primary Win|Nick Fouriezos|September 9, 2020|Ozy
Anytime I feel the need for a little push that’s authentic and earnest, I’ll listen to an episode or two to be reminded of what brilliant and thoughtful folks are doing in the world.
Podcast recommendations for a better life and career from Fortune’s 40 under 40|Aric Jenkins|September 5, 2020|Fortune
People have been using long-tail keywords for a long time and seeing brilliant results with their search rankings.
Voice search SEO guide: Trends and best practices|Ricky Wang|September 2, 2020|Search Engine Watch

She is a brilliant, compassionate, empathetic candidate and that came across in her speech.
Be optimistic but work your ass off|Peter Rosenstein|August 20, 2020|Washington Blade
These were brilliant writers who were really great at keeping it to jokes.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His speeches, which he wrote himself, were frequently brilliant, even if they too often pointed backward instead of forward.
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion|Jonathan Alter|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sachin Tendulkar may be one of the most brilliant players in the sport, but he struggles to liven up his memoirs.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both impart the experience of sitting with brilliant Cubans over a rum to debate the State of Cuban Intellectual Life.
Book Bag: Great Books About Cuba|Julia Cooke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, you can read this just as a brilliant, subversive coda to a horror movie.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the evening, St. Peter's and its accessories were illuminated—by far the most brilliant spectacle I ever saw.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Kum Kale has been a brilliant bit of work, though I fear we have lost nearly a quarter of our effectives.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Admiration for brilliant colours, for moving things, such as feathers, is common to the two.
Children's Ways|James Sully
But in August, 1805, the approaching war with Austria caused the Emperor to summon his most brilliant cavalry leader to his side.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
As a brilliant conversationalist and well-versed political economist he has few rivals in his country.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for brilliant

brilliant

/ (ˈbrɪljənt) /

adjective

shining with light; sparkling

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

outstanding; exceptionala brilliant success

splendid; magnificenta brilliant show

of outstanding intelligence or intellecta brilliant mind; a brilliant idea

music

(of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental
Also: brilliant (French brijɑ̃), brilliante (French brijɑ̃t) with spirit; lively

noun

Also called: brilliant cut

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
a diamond of this cut

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

Derived forms of brilliant

brilliantly, adverb

Word Origin for brilliant

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

brilliant

Origin of brilliant

synonym study for brilliant

OTHER WORDS FROM brilliant

Words nearby brilliant

MORE ABOUT BRILLIANT

What does brilliant mean?

Where does brilliant come from?

Did you know ... ?

How is brilliant used in real life?

Try using brilliant!

Words related to brilliant

How to use brilliant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brilliant

Derived forms of brilliant

Word Origin for brilliant