Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: French
Origin: , present participle of briller 'to shine', from Italian brillare, probably from Latin beryllus; BERYL

brilliant

 adjective
     
bril‧liant S3 W3
1

bright

brilliant light or colour is very bright and strong:
She closed her eyes against the brilliant light.
We sat outside in the brilliant sunshine.
She was dressed in brilliant white.
2

clever

extremely clever or skilful:
I think that's a brilliant idea.
a brilliant performance
a brilliant young musician
3

excellent

British English excellent:
4

successful

very successful:
He had a long and brilliant career.
The project was a brilliant success.
—brilliantly adverb:
The sun was shining brilliantly.
The goalkeeper played brilliantly.
WORD FOCUS: good WORD FOCUS: good
very good: excellent, fantastic, wonderful, great, terrific, neat American English, superb, amazing, outstanding, brilliant, impressive, fine, first-class, out of this world
of good quality: high quality, top quality, superior, deluxe, classy
morally good: decent, virtuous, respectable, honourable British English/honorable American English, upright, beyond reproach

➔ See also goodWORD 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 intelligent
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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