radiance
Americannoun
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radiant brightness or light.
the radiance of the tropical sun.
- Synonyms:
- brilliance, splendor, resplendence
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warm, cheerful brightness.
the radiance of her expression.
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Rare. radiation.
noun
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the quality or state of being radiant
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Le. a measure of the amount of electromagnetic radiation leaving or arriving at a point on a surface. It is the radiant intensity in a given direction of a small element of surface area divided by the orthogonal projection of this area onto a plane at right angles to the direction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of radiance
Compare meaning
How does radiance compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Radiance is a type of glowing: either from a light source like the sun or a healthy, beaming person. The sun radiates lights, and bright objects that give off light rays have a quality called radiance. The sun's radiance can be felt the strongest in the afternoon. We use lights for their radiance: they brighten rooms and streets. Also, if someone is happy and healthy, we can talk about their radiance. A sign of radiance in a person is a wide smile, and pregnant women are often said to have a glow or radiance because they’re full of life.
Vocabulary lists containing radiance
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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A Single Shard
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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.
She’s by his side clasping her hands, wearing a colorful blouse that pales in radiance to Huerta’s hopeful face as she looks at the crowd before them.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
The growing closeness between Olive, played with quiet radiance by Ms. Rogers, and William, whom Mr. McHale renders with galumphing gawkiness, forms another affecting strand of the score.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
Another critic said he had "a fluid physical grace and an inner radiance that sometimes makes it seem as if he's lit from within".
From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025
How could Fiyero not succumb to her inner radiance?
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2024
Her genial, brown eyes had the radiance of pristine pearls.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
