13 definitions found for Brilliant

Brilliant BRILL'IANT, a. [Eng. beryl and pearl.]
1. Sparkling with luster; glittering; as a brilliant gem; a brilliant dress.
2. Splendid; shining; as a brilliant achievement.
Washington was more solicitous to avoid fatal mistakes,than to perform brilliant exploits.
BRILL'IANT, n. A diamond of the finest cut, formed into angles, so as to refract the light, by which it is rendered more glittering.
1. In the manege, a brisk,high-spirited horse,with a stately carriage.

brilliant adj 1: of surpassing excellence; "a brilliant performance"; "a superb actor" [syn: brilliant, superb] 2: having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence; "some men dislike brainy women"; "a brilliant mind"; "a brilliant solution to the problem" [syn: brainy, brilliant, smart as a whip] 3: characterized by grandeur; "the brilliant court life at Versailles"; "a glorious work of art"; "magnificent cathedrals"; "the splendid coronation ceremony" [syn: brilliant, glorious, magnificent, splendid] 4: having striking color; "bright dress"; "brilliant tapestries"; "a bird with vivid plumage" [syn: bright, brilliant, vivid] 5: full of light; shining intensely; "a brilliant star"; "brilliant chandeliers" 6: clear and sharp and ringing; "the bright sound of the trumpet section"; "the brilliant sound of the trumpets" [syn: bright, brilliant]

brilliant I. adjective Etymology: French brillant, present participle of briller to shine, from Italian brillare Date: 1696 1. very bright ; glittering <a brilliant light> 2. a. striking, distinctive <a brilliant example> b. distinguished by unusual mental keenness or alertness Synonyms: see bright • brilliantly adverb II. noun Date: 1690 a gem (as a diamond) cut in a particular form with numerous facets so as to have special brilliance

brilliant
adj. & n.
--adj.
1 very bright; sparkling.
2 outstandingly talented or intelligent.
3 showy; outwardly impressive.
4 colloq. excellent, superb.
--n. a diamond of the finest cut with many facets.
Derivatives:
brilliantly adv.
Etymology: F brillant part. of briller shine f. It. brillare, of unkn. orig.

brilliant ˈbrɪljənt adj. & n. --adj. 1 very bright; sparkling. 2 outstandingly talented or intelligent. 3 showy; outwardly impressive. 4 colloq. excellent, superb. --n. a diamond of the finest cut with many facets. øøbrilliantly adv. [F brillant part. of briller shine f. It. brillare, of unkn. orig.]

brilliant
beorht

Brilliant Bril"liant, n. [F. brillant. See Brilliant, a.] 1. 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. This snuffbox -- on the hinge see brilliants shine. --Pope. 2. (Print.) The smallest size of type used in England printing. Note: This line is printed in the type called Brilliant. 3. A kind of cotton goods, figured on the weaving.

Brilliant Bril"liant (br[i^]l"yant), a. [F. brillant, p. pr. of briller to shine or sparkle (cf. Pr. & Sp. brillar, It. brillare), fr. L. beryllus a precious stone of sea-green color, Prov. It. brill. See Beryl.] 1. Sparkling with luster; glittering; very bright; as, a brilliant star. 2. Distinguished by qualities which excite admiration; splendid; shining; as, brilliant talents. Washington was more solicitous to avoid fatal mistakes than to perform brilliant exploits. --Fisher Ames. Syn: See Shining.

Brilliant, AL (town, FIPS 9424) Location: 34.01672 N, 87.77581 W Population (1990): 751 (366 housing units) Area: 7.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 35548

Brilliant, OH (village, FIPS 8812) Location: 40.26850 N, 80.62490 W Population (1990): 1672 (695 housing units) Area: 2.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 43913

brilliant I. a. 1. Sparkling, glittering, splendid, lustrous, shining, bright, beaming, radiant, effulgent, refulgent, resplendent, glistening, gleaming. See bright, 1. 2. Illustrious, glorious, celebrated, famous, renowned, distinguished, eminent, admirable. 3. Striking, prominent, decided, unusual, impressive, signal, dazzling. II. n. Diamond (cut into facets).

brilliant ˈbrɪljənt adj. 1 bright, shining, lustrous, radiant, resplendent, dazzling, luminous; incandescent, glittering, sparkling, scintillating, coruscating, twinkling, Formal effulgent: At the show I saw the most brilliant display of diamonds. 2 splendid, magnificent, superb, beautiful, distinguished, striking, glorious, remarkable, exceptional, outstanding: The audience rose for a standing ovation after the brilliant last movement of the concerto. 3 illustrious, famous, noted, celebrated, eminent, prominent, renowned, accomplished: Paul is one of the country's most brilliant chemists. 4 intelligent, clever, gifted, bright, talented, smart, expert, masterful, accomplished, ingenious, imaginative, creative; quick-witted, sharp-witted, keen-witted, enlightened; resourceful, discerning, able, competent: Goddard's brilliant mind understood principles of practical rocket flight.

187 Moby Thesaurus words for "brilliant": Attic, Daedalian, able, accomplished, adept, adroit, apt, artistic, authoritative, beaming, beautiful, bedazzling, biting, blinding, blooming, brainy, bravura, bright, bright and shining, bright-hued, brim, brink, burning, celebrated, charismatic, clean, clever, colorful, colory, competent, coordinated, coruscating, crack, crackerjack, creative, cunning, cute, daedal, dazzling, deep-colored, deft, devastating, dexterous, dextrous, diplomatic, discerning, distinguished, divine, droll, edge, effulgent, eminent, enlightened, erudite, excellent, exceptional, exotic, expert, facetious, famous, fancy, flamboyant, flaming, fringe, fulgent, fulgid, funny, garish, gay, gay-colored, gifted, glamorous, glaring, glary, glittering, glorious, glowing, good, goodish, gorgeous, graceful, handy, heavenly, hem, high-colored, humorous, humorsome, illustrious, imaginative, incandescent, ingenious, intelligent, intense, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, killing, knowing, knowledgeable, lambent, learned, lucent, luminous, lustrous, magic, magisterial, magnificent, margin, masterful, masterly, mordant, neat, nimble, nimble-witted, no dumbbell, no mean, not born yesterday, noted, numinous, outstanding, perimeter, periphery, pointed, politic, professional, proficient, prominent, pungent, quick, quick-thinking, quick-witted, quite some, radiant, rapier-like, raving, ravishing, ready, refulgent, remarkable, renowned, resourceful, resplendent, rich, rich-colored, sage, salt, salty, scintillating, sharp, sharp-witted, shining, skillful, skirt, slick, smart, some, sparkling, splendent, splendid, splendorous, splendrous, sprightly, statesmanlike, steel-trap, striking, stunning, stylish, sublime, superb, tactful, talented, the compleat, the complete, twinkling, verge, virtuoso, vivid, well-done, whimsical, wise, witty, workmanlike