radiant

American  

[rey-dee-uhnt] / ˈreɪ di ənt /

adjective

1. emitting rays of light; shining; bright.

   the radiant sun;

   radiant colors.

   Synonyms:

   resplendent, refulgent, beaming

   Antonyms:

   dim

2. bright with joy, hope, etc..

   radiant smiles;

   a radiant future.

3. Physics. emitted or propagated by radiation.

4. Heraldry.

   1. noting a partition line having a series of flamelike indentations formed by ogees joined in zigzags; rayonny.

   2. (of a charge, as an ordinary) having an edge or edges so formed.

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noun

radiants plural

1. a point or object from which rays proceed.

2. Astronomy. the point in the heavens from which a shower of meteors appears to radiate.

3. a refractory absorbing and radiating heat from the flames of a gas fireplace or the like.

radiant British  

/ ˈreɪdɪənt /

adjective

1. sending out rays of light; bright; shining

2. characterized by health, intense joy, happiness, etc

   a radiant countenance

3. emitted or propagated by or as radiation; radiated

   radiant heat

4. sending out heat by radiation

   a radiant heater

5. physics (of a physical quantity in photometry) evaluated by absolute energy measurements Compare luminous

   radiant flux

   radiant efficiency

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noun

1. a point or object that emits radiation, esp the part of a heater that gives out heat

2. astronomy the point in space from which a meteor shower appears to emanate

radiant Scientific  

/ rā′dē-ənt /

1. Transmitting light, heat, or other radiation. Stars, for example, are radiant bodies.

2. Consisting of or transmitted as radiation.

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1. The apparent celestial origin of a meteor shower. For example, a point in the constellation Gemini is the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower.

Synonym Usage

See bright.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiradiant
  adjective
• nonradiant
  adjective
• superradiant
  adjective
• unradiant
  adjective
• nonradiantly
  adverb
• radiantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• radiants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of radiant

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin radiant-, stem of radiāns “shining,” present participle of radiāre “to radiate light, shine,” verb derivative of radius “beam, ray”; see radius

Explanation

The adjective radiant is useful for describing anything that glows with warmth or light. When you open your eyes on a sunny summer morning and see your curtains glowing with sunlight, you can call them radiant. Something that shines or glows is radiant, and you can also describe anything that's bright as radiant, like a smile or a powerful emotion ("a radiant sense of happiness"). In science, radiant means "transmitted by radiation," and it usually describes heat, like the radiant heat from an oven. The Latin root is radiantem, "shining," and sometime around 1500 it started being used to describe physical beauty, which Shakespeare did in "Twelfth Night": "Most radiant, exquisite, and unmatchable beauty..."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

radiant radiants

Ceuzany's voice ranges from crystalline highs to deep lows, as she performs everything from jazz to slam, commanding the stage with wavy blonde hair and earrings framing her radiant face.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Culture Minister Catherine Pégard told AFP that Baye had "lit up a long chapter in the history of French cinema with her talent and radiant personality".

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

Galsworthy did not take up these characters again until 1918 when he wrote a radiant, nostalgic short story called “Indian Summer of a Forsyte.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

“Our mother was an incredible woman—a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” they said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026

A small sunbeam had bored its way down through the overhead green, and the playhouse was bathed in a warm radiant glow.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

He gave a bound, remaining fastened to the ground by one of his radiants, and raised the others like a bundle of reptiles.

From Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) A Novel by Jordan, Charlotte Brewster

Yet, since a few detonating meteors have been found to proceed from ascertained radiants of shooting-stars, it is difficult to suppose that any generic difference separates them.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

Unlike the other well-known showers, the radiants of which are stationary, that of the Perseids shifts each night a little in an easterly direction.

From Astronomy of To-day A Popular Introduction in Non-Technical Language by Dolmage, Cecil Goodrich Julius

These are described as "meteors with stationary radiants," since for months together they seem to come from the same fixed points in the sky.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

The radiants carried them away, and I saw them no more.

From Lilith, a romance by MacDonald, George

Related Words

• beaming
• brilliant
• gleaming
• glittering
• glowing
• incandescent
• lustrous
• resplendent
• shining
• sunny