What does brilliant mean?

Definitions for brilliant
ˈbrɪl yəntbril·liant

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word brilliant.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. brilliant, superbadjective

    of surpassing excellence

    "a brilliant performance"; "a superb actor"

  2. brainy, brilliant, smart as a whipadjective

    having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence

    "some men dislike brainy women"; "a brilliant mind"; "a brilliant solution to the problem"

  3. brilliant, glorious, magnificent, splendidadjective

    characterized by grandeur

    "the brilliant court life at Versailles"; "a glorious work of art"; "magnificent cathedrals"; "the splendid coronation ceremony"

  4. bright, brilliant, vividadjective

    having striking color

    "bright dress"; "brilliant tapestries"; "a bird with vivid plumage"

  5. brilliantadjective

    full of light; shining intensely

    "a brilliant star"; "brilliant chandeliers"

  6. bright, brilliantadjective

    clear and sharp and ringing

    "the bright sound of the trumpet section"; "the brilliant sound of the trumpets"

Wiktionary

  1. brilliantnoun

    a finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, having many facets

  2. brilliantadjective

    shining brightly

    the brilliant lights along the promenade

  3. brilliantadjective

    both light and saturated

    butterflies with brilliant blue wings

  4. brilliantadjective

    having a sharp, clear tone

  5. brilliantadjective

    of surpassing excellence

    The actor's performance in the play was simply brilliant.

  6. brilliantadjective

    magnificent or wonderful

  7. brilliantadjective

    highly intelligent

    She is a brilliant scientist.

  8. Etymology: From brillant, from as if *, from berillus, beryllus, from βήρυλλος.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. BRILLIANTadjective

    Shining; sparkling; splendid; full of lustre.

    Etymology: brillant, Fr.

    So have I seen in larder dark
    Of veal a lucid loin,
    Replete with many a brilliant spark,
    As wise philosophers remark,
    At once both stink and shine. Dorset.

  2. Brilliantnoun

    A diamond of the finest cut, formed into angles, so as to refract the light, and shine more.

    In deference to his virtues, I forbear
    To shew you what the rest in orders were;
    This brilliant is so spotless and so bright,
    He needs not foil, but shines by his own proper light. Dryd.

ChatGPT

  1. brilliant

    Brilliant refers to something or someone that is exceptionally clever, talented, or outstanding, often noticeable for its brightness, radiance, or intensity. It can describe a range of phenomena, from a highly intelligent person, a spectacular performance or idea, to a brightly shining light or color. It is typically used to commend or express admiration.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Brilliant

    sparkling with luster; glittering; very bright; as, a brilliant star

  2. Brilliant

    distinguished by qualities which excite admiration; splendid; shining; as, brilliant talents

  3. Brilliantadjective

    a diamond or other gem of the finest cut, formed into faces and facets, so as to reflect and refract the light, by which it is rendered more brilliant. It has at the middle, or top, a principal face, called the table, which is surrounded by a number of sloping facets forming a bizet; below, it has a small face or collet, parallel to the table, connected with the girdle by a pavilion of elongated facets. It is thus distinguished from the rose diamond, which is entirely covered with facets on the surface, and is flat below

  4. Brilliantadjective

    the smallest size of type used in England printing

  5. Brilliantadjective

    a kind of cotton goods, figured on the weaving

Wikidata

  1. Brilliant

    Brilliant were a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s. Although not commercially successful and mauled by the critics, they remain notable because of the personnel involved - Martin Glover aka Youth, formerly of Killing Joke and subsequently a top producer/remixer; Jimmy Cauty, later to find fame and fortune as one half of The KLF; and Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor. Equally notable was their management, their record company A&R manager, and songwriting and production team.

Suggested Resources

  1. brilliant

    Song lyrics by brilliant -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by brilliant on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. BRILLIANT

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Brilliant is ranked #43885 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Brilliant surname appeared 491 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Brilliant.

    92.2% or 453 total occurrences were White.
    2.8% or 14 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.2% or 11 total occurrences were Asian.
    2% or 10 total occurrences were of two or more races.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'brilliant' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3423

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'brilliant' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1032

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'brilliant' in Adjectives Frequency: #393

How to pronounce brilliant?

How to say brilliant in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of brilliant in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of brilliant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of brilliant in a Sentence

  1. Anna Wintour:

    I totally agree with that. Georgina is a brilliant designer and I don’t think she should be blamed for her husband’s behavior, i think it was a great gesture of support on Scarlett’s part to wear a dress like that, a beautiful dress like that, on such a public occasion.

  2. Abraham Lincoln:

    I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice.

  3. Scott C. Holstad:

    We share this moment not through touch but our eyes, yours brilliant, shining, willing, wanting to know feel the pain, understand, mine dead to the world, a bleak history of empty files

  4. David Brody:

    Jeff was a brilliant strategist, visionary and expert in all things aviation.

  5. Tim Considine:

    I went home, and I developed the pictures, and. . . I loved Getty Images, so I went back the next night and went up the stairs [ to Mitchell’s dressing room ], knocked on the door and introduced Tim Considine. I ’d made 11-by-14 prints, and Joni Mitchell seemed to like them. And I felt 9 feet tall that this brilliant singer-songwriter, poet and painter liked Getty Images. And then David Crosby came in, and Joni Mitchell handed them to David Crosby. And David Crosby took one look at them and said, ‘ Needs more contrast. ’.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

brilliant#1#6035#10000

Translations for brilliant

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • متألقArabic
  • брилянт, блестящ, великолепен, искрящ, яръкBulgarian
  • clar, brillantCatalan, Valencian
  • zářivýCzech
  • strålendeDanish
  • strahlend, genial, BrillantGerman
  • geniaEsperanto
  • brillanteSpanish
  • برلیانPersian
  • kirkas, nerokas, loistava, briljantti, säteileväFinnish
  • brillantFrench
  • ard-inçhynaghManx
  • מבריקHebrew
  • briliánsHungarian
  • փայլունArmenian
  • cemerlangIndonesian
  • splendente, superlativo, sgargiante, eccezionale, squillante, geniale, luccicante, pietra preziosa, lucente, brillante, talentuoso, fantastico, gemma, di successo, meravigliosoItalian
  • ブリリアントJapanese
  • praeclarumLatin
  • izcils, spilgts, spožsLatvian
  • koeaMāori
  • briljant, meesterlijk, geniaal, virtuoos, schitterend, stralendDutch
  • strålende, lysende, genial, klar, enestående, storslagenNorwegian
  • świetny, znakomity, genialny, błyszczącyPolish
  • claro, brilhantePortuguese
  • SclipitorRomanian
  • великолепный, блестящий, сочный, хрустальный, сверкающий, бриллиант, блистательныйRussian
  • begåvad, virtuosmässig, högt, mästerlig, gnistrande, storslagen, glänsande, genialisk, briljant, strålande, lysandeSwedish
  • nidikVolapük
  • בריליאַנטYiddish

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"brilliant." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/brilliant>.

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