| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| bright |
| |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  br t |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: bright·er, bright·est
1a. Emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts; shining. b. Comparatively high on the scale of brightness. c. Full of light or illumination: a bright sunny day; a stage bright with spotlights. 2. Characterizing a dyestuff that produces a highly saturated color; brilliant. 3. Glorious; splendid: one of the bright stars of stage and screen; a bright moment in history. 4. Full of promise and hope; auspicious: had a bright future in publishing. 5. Happy; cheerful: bright faces. 6. Animatedly clever; intelligent. 7. High and clear: the bright sound of the trumpet section. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English beorht. See bher g- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | bright, bright ly —ADVERB
| | SYNONYMS: | bright, brilliant, radiant, lustrous, lambent, luminous, incandescent, effulgent These adjectives refer to what emits or reflects light. Bright is the most general: bright sunshine; a bright blue. Brilliant implies intense brightness and often suggests sparkling or gleaming light: a brilliant color; a brilliant gemstone. Something radiant emits or seems to emit light in rays: a radiant sunrise; a radiant smile. A lustrous object reflects an agreeable sheen: thick, lustrous auburn hair. Lambent applies to a soft, flickering light: “its tranquil streets, bathed in the lambent green of budding trees” (James C. McKinley). Luminous especially refers to something that glows in the dark: a luminous watch dial. Incandescent stresses burning brilliance: Flames consist of incandescent gases. Effulgent suggests splendid radiance: “The crocus, the snowdrop, and the effulgent daffodil are considered bright harbingers of spring” (John Gould).See also synonyms at intelligent.
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
