bright
bright (brīt) adjective
brighter, brightest
1. a. 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.
[Middle English, from Old English beorht.]
bright or brightʹly 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; bright teeth. Brilliant implies intense brightness and often suggests sparkling, glittering, or gleaming light: a brilliant color; a brilliant gemstone. Something that is radiant radiates or seems to radiate light: a radiant sunrise; a radiant smile. A lustrous object originates no light but reflects an agreeable sheen: thick, lustrous auburn hair; a necklace of lustrous pearls. Lambent applies to a soft, flickering light: "its tranquil streets, bathed in the lambent green of budding trees" (James C. McKinley). Luminous refers broadly to what shines with light but is said especially of something that glows in the dark: The watch has a luminous dial. Incandescent stresses burning brilliance, as of something white-hot: 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.