# brilliant

Pronunciation: say "BRIL-yuhnt" /ˈbɹɪljənt/

## Adjective

1. Of surpassing excellence; magnificent or outstanding.
   - Simple: Extremely good and impressive.
   - _The novel's ending was a brilliant stroke that critics praised for years._
   - _Her debut was nothing short of brilliant, earning a standing ovation._
2. Showing great intelligence or exceptional mental ability.
   - Simple: Very smart, with an unusual ability to think and understand.
   - _His brilliant analysis untangled a problem that had stumped the whole team._
   - _The professor was so brilliant that colleagues sought her opinion on every hard case._
3. Shining or glowing with great brightness.
   - Simple: Shining with very strong, bright light.
   - _A brilliant flash of lightning lit up the entire valley._
   - _The polished brass fixtures were brilliant under the gallery lights._
4. Both bright and deeply saturated in color.
   - Simple: Very bright and full of strong, rich color.
   - _The garden burst into brilliant yellows and oranges by late summer._
   - _Stained glass cast brilliant patches of green and crimson on the floor._
6. Having a sharp, clear, ringing tone.
   - Simple: Having a sharp, clear sound.
   - _The new strings gave the violin a brilliant edge in the upper range._
   - _Critics praised the soprano's brilliant top notes._

## Noun

5. A finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, shaped with many facets to maximize the light returned through its flat top face.
   - Simple: A diamond or other gem cut with many flat faces so it sparkles.
   - _The appraiser examined the brilliant under a loupe for several minutes._
   - _A single brilliant glittered at the center of the antique brooch._

## Noun

7. In printing, a 4-point size of type, smaller than diamond and larger than excelsior. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A very small size of printed type, equal to four points.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To give a diamond the many-faceted cut that turns it into a brilliant.
- (noun) Any of the hummingbird species that make up most of the genus Heliodoxa.
- (noun) A type of cotton fabric with figures worked into the weave rather than printed on.

## Origin

Borrowed in the late 17th century from French "brillant," the present participle of the verb "briller," itself from Italian "brillare." This is possibly traced to Latin "berillus, beryllus" (a beryl or gem), from Ancient Greek "bḗrullos" (beryl).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/brilliant (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).