brilliance

[bril-yuhns]

noun

1. great brightness; luster.

   the brilliance of a fine diamond.

   Synonyms: refulgence, effulgence, radiance
   Antonyms: dullness

2. excellence or distinction; conspicuous talent, mental ability, etc.

   Synonyms: genius, preeminence, illustriousness
   Antonyms: dullness

3. splendor, elegance, or magnificence.

   the brilliance of the court of Louis XIV.

4. Optics.,  that luminance of a body consisting of its saturation and brightness.

brilliance

/ ˈbrɪljəns /

noun

1. great brightness; radiance

2. excellence or distinction in physical or mental ability; exceptional talent

3. splendour; magnificence

   the brilliance of the royal court

4. physics a former term for luminance

Other Word Forms

• overbrilliance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brilliance¹

First recorded in 1745–55; brilli(ant) + -ance

Example Sentences

The composition’s frantic strings and minor chords cleverly emphasize the brilliance of Oliphant’s cartoons depicting the circus of the politically obscene.

From Salon

It has historically been difficult for uncapped domestic players to compete in the tournament, but there have been glimpses of brilliance this year to suggest that trend might begin to change.

From BBC

So the only real changes to the brilliance from the original script were toning it down at certain moments and making it more affordable to make.”

From Los Angeles Times

As much as there was individual brilliance on the day from Grealish, manager Moyes deserves credit for profiling him in a way that helped to extract that quality.

From BBC

He is exactly right: whenever the club has been successful over the last 10 years has been pure vibes and occasional individual brilliance.

From BBC

Related Words

• cleverness www.thesaurus.com
• excellence 
• inspiration 
• intelligence 
• inventiveness www.thesaurus.com
• talent 
• wisdom 

When To Use

What does brilliance mean?

Brilliance commonly refers to the quality of extreme intelligence. People considered geniuses are often said to possess or display brilliance.Brilliance is a noun form of the adjective brilliant, which commonly means extremely intelligent but can also mean outstanding, exceptional, or magnificent, as in a brilliant performance. These senses of brilliant are based on its more general meaning—shining brightly or sparkling. Bright sunshine can be described as brilliant in this way. A very sparkly gem such as a diamond could also be described as brilliant. Brilliance can be used in these contexts to refer to the brightness or sparkliness of such things.Brilliant can also be used to mean vivid or vibrant. This sense of the word is especially used to describe colors and sounds that stand out due to being especially strong and clear. Brilliance refers to the quality of such things.Example: I cannot overstate the brilliance of the performance—it was magnificent in every way.