brilliant
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.
Jewelry. a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.
Printing. a size of type about 3½-point.
Origin of brilliant
1synonym study For brilliant
Other words from brilliant
- bril·liant·ly, adverb
- bril·liant·ness, noun
- o·ver·bril·liant, adjective
- o·ver·bril·liant·ly, adverb
- quasi-brilliant, adjective
- qua·si-bril·liant·ly, adverb
- un·bril·liant, adjective
- un·bril·liant·ly, adverb
- un·bril·liant·ness, noun
Words Nearby brilliant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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 | NautilusWe 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 | OzyAnytime 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 | FortunePeople 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 WatchShe is a brilliant, compassionate, empathetic candidate and that came across in her speech.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTHis speeches, which he wrote himself, were frequently brilliant, even if they too often pointed backward instead of forward.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTBoth impart the experience of sitting with brilliant Cubans over a rum to debate the State of Cuban Intellectual Life.
Of course, you can read this just as a brilliant, subversive coda to a horror movie.
In the evening, St. Peter's and its accessories were illuminated—by far the most brilliant spectacle I ever saw.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyKum 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 HamiltonAdmiration for brilliant colours, for moving things, such as feathers, is common to the two.
Children's Ways | James SullyBut 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-PattisonAs 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
/ (ˈbrɪljənt) /
shining with light; sparkling
(of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid
outstanding; exceptional: a brilliant success
splendid; magnificent: a brilliant show
of outstanding intelligence or intellect: a 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
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
Origin of brilliant
1Derived forms of brilliant
- brilliantly, adverb
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
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