brilliant

English

Etymology

From French brillant, from Medieval Latin as if *berilare (“to sparkle like a beryl or other precious stone”), from Latin berillus, beryllus (“a beryl, gem, eyeglass”), from Ancient Greek βήρυλλος (bērullos, “beryl”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

brilliant (comparative more brilliant, superlative most brilliant)

1. shining brightly

   the brilliant lights along the promenade

2. (of a colour) both light and saturated

   butterflies with brilliant blue wings

3. (of a voice or sound) having a sharp, clear tone
4. (dated, except UK) of surpassing excellence

   The actor's performance in the play was simply brilliant.

5. (dated, except UK) magnificent or wonderful
6. highly intelligent

   She is a brilliant scientist.

Synonyms

• (shining brightly): glittering, shining
• (of a colour: both light and saturated):
• (of a voice or sound: having a sharp, clear tone):
• (surpassing excellence): excellent, distinctive, striking, superb (obsolete except in UK usage)
• (magnificent or wonderful): exceptional, glorious, magnificent, marvellous/marvelous, splendid, wonderful (obsolete except in UK usage)
• (highly intelligent): brainy, ingenious
• See also Wikisaurus:intelligent

Related terms

• brilliance
• brilliantine
• brilliantness

Translations

shining brightly

Bulgarian: ярък (bg), блестящ (bg) Catalan: brillant (ca) m. and f. Czech: zářivý (cs) Dutch: stralend (nl) Finnish: loistava (fi), säteilevä (fi) French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: strahlend (de) Hebrew: מבריק (mavryq) m., מבריקה (mavriqa) f.

Italian: brillante m. and f. Mandarin: 光明, 燦爛, 灿烂 (chán làn) Norwegian: lysende (no), strålende (no) Polish: błyszczący m. Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. and f. Russian: блестящий (ru) (bl'est'áščij), сверкающий (ru) (sv'erkájuščij) Swedish: lysande (sv), glänsande (sv), gnistrande (sv), strålande (sv)

of a colour: both light and saturated

Bulgarian: искрящ (bg) Catalan: brillant (ca) m. and f. French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: strahlend (de), brillant (de) Italian: brillante (it) m.

Mandarin: 明亮的, 明亮的 (míng liàng de) Norwegian: strålende (no) Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. and f. Russian: блестящий (bl'est'áščij), сочный (sóčnyj)

of a voice or sound: having a sharp, clear tone

Catalan: clar (ca) Finnish: kirkas (fi) French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: brillant (de)

Mandarin: 明亮的, 明亮的 (míng liàng de) Norwegian: klar (no) Portuguese: claro (pt) m., clara (pt) f. Russian: хрустальный (ru) (khrustál'nyj)

surpassing excellence (primarily UK usage)

Armenian: փայլուն (hy) (p’aylun) Bulgarian: блестящ (bg) Catalan: brillant (ca) m. and f. Dutch: briljant, meesterlijk, virtuoos Finnish: loistava (fi) French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: brillant (de) Hungarian: briliáns (hu)

Italian: brillante m. and f. Mandarin: 出色的, 出色的 (chū sè de) Norwegian: enestående (no), genial (no) Polish: znakomity m., świetny m. Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. and f. Russian: блестящий (bl'est'áščij), блистательный (blistátel'nyj) Swedish: mästerlig (sv), virtuosmässig (sv)

magnificent or wonderful (primarily UK usage)

Armenian: փայլուն (hy) (p’aylun) Bulgarian: великолепен (bg) Catalan: brillant (ca) m. and f. Dutch: briljant (nl), schitterend (nl) Finnish: loistava (fi) French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: brillant (de)

Italian: brillante m. and f. Mandarin: 輝煌的, 辉煌的 (huī huáng de) Norwegian: enestående (no), storslagen (no) Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. and f. Russian: блестящий (bl'est'áščij), великолепный (velikol'épnyj) Swedish: briljant (sv), lysande (sv), strålande (sv), storslagen (sv)

highly intelligent

Armenian: փայլուն (hy) (p’aylun) Catalan: brillant (ca) m. and f. Dutch: briljant (nl), geniaal (nl) Finnish: nerokas (fi) French: brillant (fr) m., brillante (fr) f. German: genial (de), brillant (de) Hebrew: מבריק (mavryq) m., מבריקה (mavriqa) f.

Mandarin: 英明的, 英明的 (yīng míng de) Manx: ard-inçhynagh (gv) Norwegian: enestående (no), genial (no) Polish: genialny m. Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. and f. Russian: блестящий (bl'est'áščij) Swedish: briljant (sv), genialisk (sv), högt (sv) begåvad (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

• Spanish: brillante

Noun

brilliant (plural brilliants)

1. a finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, having many facets

   • 1891: “And the ring?” I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger. — Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘A Case Of Identity’ (Norton 2005 p.76)

Translations

finely cut gemstone

Bulgarian: брилянт (bg) m. Dutch: briljant (nl) m. Finnish: briljantti (fi) German: Brillant (de) m. Hungarian: briliáns (hu)

Italian: brillante (it) m. Portuguese: brilhante (pt) m. Russian: бриллиант (ru) (brilliánt) m. Swedish: briljant (sv) c.

External links

• brilliant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• brilliant in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• brilliant at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Crimean Tatar

Etymology

French brillant.

Noun

brilliant

1. brilliant.

Declension

    declension of brilliant

nominative	brilliant
genitive	brilliantnıñ
dative	brilliantqa
accusative	brilliantnı
locative	brilliantta
ablative	brillianttan

References

• Useinov & Mireev Dictionary, Simferopol, Dolya, 2002 [1]