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brilliance

 - 3 dictionary results

bril·liance

[bril-yuhns]
–noun
1.
great brightness; luster: the brilliance of a fine diamond.
2.
excellence or distinction; conspicuous talent, mental ability, etc.
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.

Origin:
1745–55; brilli(ant) + -ance

o·ver·bril·liance, noun


1. radiance, effulgence, refulgence. 2. illustriousness, preeminence; genius.


1, 2. dullness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
brilliance or brilliancy (ˈbrɪljəns) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
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
 
brilliancy or brilliancy
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

brilliance
1755, from brilliant (q.v.). Figurative sense (of wit, intelligence, etc.) is from 1779. Distinguished from brilliancy in that the latter usually is applied to things measurable in degrees.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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