brilliant
pronunciation
How to pronounce brilliant in British English:
UK [ˈbrɪliənt]
How to pronounce brilliant in American English:
US [ˈbrɪliənt]
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- Adjective:
- of surpassing excellence
- having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence
- characterized by or attended with brilliance or grandeur
- having striking color
- full of light; shining intensely
- clear and sharp and ringing
Word Origin
- brilliant
- brilliant: [17] Brilliant comes from French brilliant, the present participle of briller ‘shine’. French borrowed the verb from Italian brillare, but it is not altogether clear where Italian got it from. One theory is that it came from Vulgar Latin *bērillāre, a derivative of bērillus ‘precious stone’ (whence English beryl [13]). The source of the Latin noun was Greek bérullos, which may have come from one of the Indo-European languages of India (Sanskrit vaidūrya ‘cat’s-eye’ has been compared).
- brilliant (adj.)
- 1680s, from French brilliant "sparkling, shining" present participle of briller "to shine" (16c.), from Italian brillare "sparkle, whirl," perhaps from Vulgar Latin *berillare "to shine like a beryl," from berillus "beryl, precious stone," from Latin beryllus (see beryl). In reference to diamonds (1680s) it means a flat-topped cut invented 17c. by Venetian cutter Vincenzo Peruzzi.
Antonym
Example
- 1. He is a populist , a lover of tabloids and a brilliant businessman .
- 2. And my brilliant husband is an absolute sweetheart .
- 3. It 's the most brilliant idea I 've ever had .
- 4. But unlike holmes 's brilliant deductions , the answer is never certain .
- 5. Feynman was a theoretical physicist and brilliant lecturer .