adj

brilliant

BRIHL-yuhnt

adj

Shining very brightly.

"The sky was a brilliant shade of blue."

Exceptionally intelligent, skilled, or impressive.

"She came up with a brilliant solution to the problem."

"He's a brilliant chess player."

noun

A diamond or other gemstone cut with many facets to maximize its sparkle.

"The ring featured a single brilliant set in gold."

How to Use Brilliant

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishVery bright, or extremely clever/impressive.

When to use it

In British English, "brilliant" is also common as an informal exclamation meaning "great" or "excellent".

Common pairings

brilliant idea brilliant career absolutely brilliant

more brilliant comparative, brillianted past tense, brilliants plural, brilliants singular, most brilliant superlative

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The sky was a _____ shade of blue.

Borrowed from French brillant, the present participle of briller ("to shine"), ultimately traced back to Latin beryllus ("beryl, gemstone").

giant variant radiant valiant defiant deviant reliant compliant