brightness
Americannoun
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the quality of being bright.
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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
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the condition of being bright
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physics a former name for luminosity
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psychol the experienced intensity of light
Etymology
Origin of brightness
before 950; Middle English brihtnes, Old English beorhtnes. See bright, -ness
Vocabulary lists containing brightness
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Physics - Introductory
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Physics - Middle School
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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.
That’s why I find myself reaching for them whenever a dish needs a little herbal brightness without requiring me to rummage through half the spice cabinet.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
They need more brightness, more salt, more personality.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
Scientists have long debated what gives superluminous supernovae their extraordinary brightness.
From Science Daily • May 27, 2026
The aim, from the start, was not to spotlight people but to illuminate architecture—an inversion of the usual transit instinct to flood everything with harsh brightness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The room was dark, but strands of light streamed in through the blinds—cracks of brightness and swirling dust in the midst of all this empty—and I could read the titles on the bookshelf.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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.
