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| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | beorht |
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bright S2 W2
comparative brighter, superlative brightest
comparative brighter, superlative brightest1 shining strongly, or with plenty of light : 
Her eyes were hurting from the bright lights.bright sunshine a large bright room
light
Her eyes were hurting from the bright lights.bright sunshinea large bright room2 if the weather is bright, the sun is shining and there is a lot of light [≠ dull]: The weather was bright and sunny. a bright autumn day
sunny
The weather was bright and sunny.a bright autumn day3 intelligent and able to learn things quickly : He was an exceptionally bright child. a bright ambitious young man
intelligent
He was an exceptionally bright child.a bright ambitious young man4 bright colours are strong and easy to see : a bright red jumper I never wear bright colours.
colours
a bright red jumperI never wear bright colours.5 happy and full of energy : Her voice was bright and cheerful. She gave him a bright smile. He looked up at me with bright eyes.
cheerful
Her voice was bright and cheerful.She gave him a bright smile.He looked up at me with bright eyes.6 if the future looks bright, you think that something will be successful [= promising]: The school's future now looks very bright.
successful
The school's future now looks very bright.8 to see the good points in a situation that seems to be bad : Come on, try to look on the bright side.
look on the bright side
Come on, try to look on the bright side.10 someone who says or does something that they think is intelligent but is really wrong or stupid : Some bright spark thought the building was on fire and called the fire brigade.
bright spark
informalSome bright spark thought the building was on fire and called the fire brigade.13 the interesting exciting life in a big city : She missed the bright lights of London.
the bright lights
She missed the bright lights of London.14 an event or a period of time that is more pleasant when everything else is unpleasant : The only bright spot of the weekend was our trip to the theatre.
bright spot
The only bright spot of the weekend was our trip to the theatre. —brightly adverb: The sun shone brightly. brightly-coloured clothes She smiled brightly.
The sun shone brightly.brightly-coloured clothesShe smiled brightly. —brightness noun [uncountable]
WORD FOCUS: colour WORD FOCUS: colour a particular kind of colour: shade, hint, hue
words for describing dark colours: dark, deep, rich
words for describing light colours: light, pale, soft, pastel
words for describing bright colours: bright, brilliant, vivid, garish disapproving, gaudy disapproving
having a lot of colours: colourful, multicoloured British English/multicolored American English
➔ See also colourWORD FOCUS: intelligent
WORD FOCUS: intelligent similar words: clever especially BrE/smart especially AmE good at learning or understanding things quickly
bright intelligent - used especially about young people
brilliant a brilliant scientist, writer, student, historian etc is extremely intelligent and does very good work
brainy informal very intelligent and good at studying
gifted a gifted child is extremely intelligent
wise a wise person has a lot of experience and knowledge, and can give good advice
cunning/crafty good at using your intelligence to trick people
intelligent people: genius someone who is extremely intelligent and has great ideas
intellectual someone who is well-educated and interested in art, science, or literature at a high level
intelligentsia a country's intellectuals, considered as a single group
➔ See also intelligentWORD FOCUS: weather
WORD FOCUS: weather good weather: sunny/fine used to describe weather or a day when there is a lot of sunshine
nice/lovely/glorious very sunny and good
bright if the weather is bright, the sun shines strongly
there isn't a cloud in the sky the sky is completely clear
dry if the weather is dry, it does not rain
fair sunny and not windy or rainy - used especially in weather forecasts
rain: wet/rainy/damp used to describe weather or a day when there is a lot of rain
unsettled if the weather is unsettled, it keeps changing and it often rains
drizzle light rain which consists of very small drops of water
shower a short period of rain
downpour a short period when it suddenly rains very heavily
it's pouring down British English/it's pouring rain American English it is raining very hard
it's drizzling it is raining a little, with very small drops of rain
snow: snowy used to describe weather or a day when there is a lot of snow
sleet a mixture of snow and rain
slush a mixture of partly melted snow and ice
hail/hailstones frozen drops of rain, that fall as drops of ice
blizzard a storm with a lot of snow and strong wind
frost white powder that covers the ground when it is cold
wind: windy used to describe a day or weather when there is a lot of wind
blustery very windy
breeze a gentle pleasant wind
hurricane (in the Atlantic Ocean) /typhoon (in the Pacific Ocean) a violent storm with extremely strong winds
cloudy: cloudy used to describe weather or a day when there are a lot of clouds in the sky
grey/dull cloudy and not bright
overcast if the sky is overcast, it is very cloudy and dark, and it is likely to rain
hazy not clear, especially because there is a slight mist caused by heat or smoke
hot: boiling/scorching/sizzling/blazing/burning/baking/broiling (hot) extremely hot
sweltering very hot and humid
warm a little hot, in a way that is pleasant
balmy pleasantly warm, with a gentle wind blowing
heatwave a period of unusually hot weather
cold: freezing (cold) extremely cold
arctic extremely cold, usually with a lot of ice and snow
wintry cold and snowy or rainy, like the weather in winter
crisp if the air is crisp, it feels cold but pleasantly fresh and clear
chilly a little too cold, in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable
cool a little cold, in a way that is pleasant
cold snap/cold spell a period of unusually cold weather
➔ See also weather
