bright

Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.

Adjective

  1. Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.
    • The sky was remarkably bright and blue on that beautiful summer day.
    • Where the bright Seraphim in burning row / Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow; / And the Cherubick hoſt in thouſand quires / Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires, […] - 1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton,...
    • Thee Father firſt they ſung Omnipotent, / […] that brighteſt Seraphim / Approach not, but with both their wings veil thir eyes. - 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and...
  2. Of light: brilliant, intense.
    • Could you please dim the light? It’s far too bright.
  3. Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high lustre; gleaming, shiny.

    Synonyms: lustrous gleamy glisteny mirrorlike mirrory relucent shining shiny splendent zazzy

    Antonyms: dull

  4. Of a place: not dark; well-lit.
    • It was said that the Irish whom [Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of] Feversham had let loose were marching on London and massacring every man, woman, and child on the road. At one in the morning the drums of the militia beat...
  5. Of climate or weather: not cloudy or gloomy; fair; also, of a period of time, the sky, etc.: characterized by much sunshine and good weather.
    • [H]e felt the influence of the bright sky, and looked up smiling into its deep unfathomable blue. - 1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 77.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London:...
    • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers. - 1910, Emerson Hough, “A Lady in...
  6. Clearly apparent; conspicuous.
    • They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating...
  7. Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid.
    • Her step was quick; her eye piercing, and of the brightest blue; […] - 1838 May, L. M., “The West Fifty Years Since”, in T[homas] W[illis] White, editor, The Southern Literary Messenger: Devoted to Every Department of...
  8. Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful.
    • The orange and blue walls of the sitting room were much brighter than the dull grey walls of the kitchen.
    • Here the bright crocus and blue vi'let glow; / Here weſtern winds on breathing roſes blow. - a. 1745 (date written), Alexander Pope, “Spring. The First Pastoral, or Damon. […]”, in The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. […],...
    • Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of...
  9. Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear, resounding, and often high-pitched.
  10. Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high frequencies.
  11. Of a scent or taste: having an agreeable balance of sweet and sour, often with associations of coolness, freshness, and sometimes aromaticity.
  12. Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong.

Origin

The adjective is from Middle English bright, from Old English berht, beorht, bryht, byrht, from Proto-West Germanic *berht, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to gleam, shine, whiten”). The noun is derived from Middle English bright (“brightness, brilliance; daylight; light”), from bright (adjective): see above. Cognates Cognate with Scots bricht (“bright”), Danish bjært (“bright”), Faroese and Icelandic bjartur (“bright”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjart (“bright”), Swedish bjärt (“bright”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷𐍄𐍃 (bairhts, “bright, clear; evident”); also Welsh berth (“beautiful, fair, fine”), Albanian bardhë (“white”), Lithuanian brėkšti (“to dawn”), Polish brzeżdżyć (“to dawn”), Russian бре́зжить (brézžitʹ, “to dawn”), Persian برازیدن (barâzidan, “to beautify; to befit”).

Forms

brighter brightest

Derived

bright and morning star bright as a button bright as a new button bright as a new coin bright as a new dollar bright as a new penny bright as a new pin brighten bright-eyed bright eyed and bushy tailed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed bright field bright giant bright green brightish brightleaf bright lights bright lights and cold steel bright line bright-line rule brightly bright nail brightness bright-rumped attila

Adverb

  1. In a bright manner; brightly, glowingly, luminously, lustrously.
  2. Referring to colour: with bold or vivid colours; brightly, boldly, vividly.
  3. Referring to sight, sound, understanding, etc.: clearly, distinctly; brightly.

Origin

From Middle English brighte (“brightly; (figuratively) brilliantly, lustrously; of colour: boldly, vividly; clearly, distinctly; of voice: loudly”) [and other forms], from Old English breohte, beorhte (West Saxon) [and other forms], ultimately from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright, shining”); see further at etymology 1.

Forms

more bright most bright

Derived

bright and early

Noun

  1. Brightness, glow.
    • Thee Father firſt they ſung Omnipotent, / […] when thou ſhad'ſt / The full blaze of thy beams, and through a cloud / Drawn round about thee like a radiant Shrine, / Dark with exceſſive bright thy ſkirts appeer, / Yet...
  2. Glory, splendour.
  3. Something (especially a product intended for sale) that has vivid colours or a lustrous appearance.
  4. A person with a naturalistic worldview with no mystical or supernatural elements.
    • Brights constitute 60% of American scientists, and a stunning 93% of those scientists good enough to be elected to the elite National Academy of Sciences (equivalent to Fellows of the Royal Society) are brights. - 2003...
    • Many of us brights have devoted considerable time and energy at some point in our lives to looking at the arguments for and against the existence of God, and many brights continue to pursue these issues, hacking away...
    • [Richard] Dawkins has received appreciative letters from people who were formerly what he derisively calls "faith-heads" who have abandoned their delusions and come over to the side of the brights, the pleasant green...

    Synonyms: humanist nonsupernaturalist

    Antonyms: super supernaturalist

    Hyponyms: atheist

  5. An artist's brush used in acrylic and oil painting with a long ferrule and a flat, somewhat tapering bristle head.

Forms

brights

Verb

  1. Often followed by up: to cast light on (someone or something); to brighten, to illuminate.

    Synonyms: enlighten light alight belight beshine bright fire illume illuminate illumine illustrate irradiate lighten light up luster lustrate shed light on

  2. Often followed by up: to cause (someone or something) to be bright (in various senses); to brighten; specifically, to make (someone or something) energetic, or happy and optimistic.
    • Toward Mid-day he [the Sun] brighteth the Air into a chearful Saphir, and guildeth the Borders of the very Clouds with a coſtly limbus. - 1686, J[ohn] Goad, “The Sun, the Great Light, Justly Admired. […]”, in...

    Synonyms: embrighten enliven delight gladden please animate arouse awaken beghast leaven bright brighten cheer energize enthuse exalt excite fire up ginger ginger up inflame invigorate inspire inspirit

  3. Often followed by up: to become bright (in various senses); to brighten.
    • Day brighteth at the smile o' her and yea, He hath aplanted full o' seed for harvesting by thy loving. - 1915, Keith Ringkamp, editor, The Patience Worth Record, volume I, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu.com, published 2008,...

Origin

From Middle English brighten (“to illuminate; to become light, dawn; (figuratively) to cleanse, purify; to clarify, explain”) [and other forms], from Old English beorhtian (“to brighten, shine; to sound clearly or loudly”) [and other forms], probably from beorht (“bright, clear”, adjective) (see further at etymology 1) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns). Later uses of the word are probably also derived from the adjective.

Forms

brights brighting brighted no-table-tags glossary bright brightest brightedst brighteth -