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refulgent

[ri-fuhl-juh nt]
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adjective
  1. shining brightly; radiant; gleaming: Crystal chandeliers and gilded walls made the opera house a refulgent setting for the ball.
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Origin of refulgent

First recorded in 1500–10, refulgent is from the Latin word refulgent- (stem of refulgēns, present participle of refulgēre to radiate light). See re-, fulgent
Related formsre·ful·gence, re·ful·gen·cy, re·ful·gent·ness, nounre·ful·gent·ly, adverbun·re·ful·gent, adjectiveun·re·ful·gent·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for refulgent

Historical Examples

  • So saying, and bestowing upon the locksmith a most refulgent smile, he left them.

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens

  • It was past noon; the great sun shone out with refulgent glory.

    Saronia

    Richard Short

  • It was not water, but new ice—smooth and refulgent as a mirror.

    Red Rooney

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • For six months of the year the sun is daily refulgent in the heavens, and sets evening after evening in all his glorious majesty.

  • In all his previous career so refulgent a day had never been his.

British Dictionary definitions for refulgent

refulgent

adjective
  1. literary shining, brilliant, or radiant
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Derived Formsrefulgence or rare refulgency, nounrefulgently, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin refulgēre to shine brightly, from re- + fulgēre to shine
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

Word Origin and History for refulgent

adj.

c.1500, from Middle French refulgent or directly from Latin refulgentem (nominative refulgens), present participle of refulgere "flash back, shine brilliantly," from re- "back" (see re-) + fulgere "to shine" (see bleach (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper