radiance

American  

[rey-dee-uhns] / ˈreɪ di əns /

noun

1. radiant brightness or light.

   the radiance of the tropical sun.

   Synonyms:

   brilliance, splendor, resplendence

2. warm, cheerful brightness.

   the radiance of her expression.

3. Rare. radiation.

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radiance British  

/ ˈreɪdɪəns /

noun

1. the quality or state of being radiant

2.  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

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Other Word Forms

• nonradiance noun
• subradiance noun
• superradiance noun

Etymology

Origin of radiance

First recorded in 1595–1605; radi(ant) + -ance

Compare meaning

How does radiance compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• irradiance vs. radiance

Example Sentences

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

All this gives the affair a narcoleptic quality, where flashes of radiance are quickly overwhelmed by everything else as we’re put back into our stupor.

From The Wall Street Journal

The skin of his palms burned from their radiance, but he only had to hold on for a little bit longer.

From Literature

The recital acted like a religious experience in which a rarefied atmosphere befits radiance.

From Los Angeles Times

Her face and hands were rubbed with olive oil and shone with radiance.

From Literature

Related Words

• warmth