brilliant

[bril-yuh nt] /ˈbrɪl yənt/
adjective
1.
shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous:
the brilliant lights of the city.
2.
distinguished; illustrious:
a brilliant performance by a young pianist.
3.
having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.:
a brilliant technician.
4.
strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright:
brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.
5.
splendid or magnificent:
a brilliant social event.
noun
6.
Jewelry. a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.
7.
Printing. a size of type about 3½-point.
Origin
1675-85; < French brillant shining, present participle of briller < Italian brillare to glitter (perhaps derivative of an expressive root); see -ant
Related forms
brilliantly, adverb
brilliantness, noun
overbrilliant, adjective
overbrilliantly, adverb
quasi-brilliant, adjective
quasi-brilliantly, adverb
unbrilliant, adjective
unbrilliantly, adverb
unbrilliantness, noun
Synonyms
1. See bright.
Examples from the web for brilliant
  • But he also joined a gift for quick, clever, complex dialogue with a brilliant comedic physicality.
  • Some clones turn a brilliant, shining yellow that almost seems to generate sunlight.
  • He's an extremely talented politician, articulate and intelligent, and brilliant at the more vulgar end of empathizing.
  • The bright red leaves of autumn deliver more nutrients to the trees than they would without the brilliant coloration.
  • What a brilliant idea.
  • His mother had been in her youth a brilliant society woman, .
  • The space shuttle took flight before dawn, igniting the sky with a brilliant flash seen for miles around.
  • Dazed by the brilliant light of their new world, the girls walk through green grass, under pure white clouds.
  • These sluglike invertebrates come in a host of brilliant hues and patterns.
  • That answer is so brilliant, I'm going to add it to the list.
British Dictionary definitions for brilliant

brilliant

/ˈbrɪljənt/
adjective
1.
shining with light; sparkling
2.
(of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid
3.
outstanding; exceptional: a brilliant success
4.
splendid; magnificent: a brilliant show
5.
of outstanding intelligence or intellect: a brilliant mind, a brilliant idea
6.
(music)
  1. (of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental
  2. Also brilliant (French) (brijɑ̃), brilliante (French) (brijɑ̃t). with spirit; lively
noun
7.
Also called brilliant cut
  1. a popular circular cut for diamonds and other gemstones in the form of two many-faceted pyramids (the top one truncated) joined at their bases
  2. a diamond of this cut
8.
(formerly) a size of a printer's type approximately equal to 4 point
Derived Forms
brilliantly, adverb
Word Origin
C17: from French brillant shining, from briller to shine, from Italian brillare, from brilloberyl
Word Origin and History for brilliant
adj.

1680s, from French brilliant "sparkling, shining" present participle of briller "to shine" (16c.), from Italian brillare "sparkle, whirl," perhaps from Vulgar Latin *berillare "to shine like a beryl," from berillus "beryl, precious stone," from Latin beryllus (see beryl). In reference to diamonds (1680s) it means a flat-topped cut invented 17c. by Venetian cutter Vincenzo Peruzzi.

Slang definitions & phrases for brilliant

brilliant

interjection

Excellent: Go outside for lunch? Brilliant!


brilliant in Technology


One of five pedagogical languages based on Markov algorithms, used in ["Nonpareil, a Machine Level Machine Independent Language for the Study of Semantics", B. Higman, ULICS Intl Report No ICSI 170, U London (1968)].
See also Diamond, Nonpareil, Pearl, Ruby.