bright

Meaning

Adj

1. Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.
2. Of light: brilliant, intense.
3. Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high lustre; gleaming, shiny.
4. Of a place: not dark; well-lit.
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.
6. (figuratively) Clearly apparent; conspicuous.
7. (figuratively) Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid.
8. (figuratively) Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful.
9. (figuratively) Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear, resounding, and often high-pitched.
10. (figuratively) Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high frequencies.
11. (figuratively) Of a scent or taste: having an agreeable balance of sweet and sour, often with associations of coolness, freshness, and sometimes aromaticity.
12. (figuratively) Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong.
13. (figuratively) Of a substance: clear, transparent; also, pure, unadulterated; (specifically) of wine: free of suspended particles; not cloudy; fine.
14. (figuratively) Glorious; illustrious.
15. (figuratively) In good spirits; happy, optimistic.
16. (figuratively) Of the face or eyes, or a smile: showing happiness or hopefulness; cheerful, lively.
17. (figuratively) Of a person: lively, vivacious.
18. (figuratively) Of a period of history or time: happy, prosperous, successful.
19. (figuratively) Of an opportunity or outlook: having a reasonable chance of success; favourable, good.
20. (figuratively) Of conversation, writing, etc.: imaginative or sparkling with wit; clever, witty.
21. (figuratively) Having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent.
22. (archaic, figuratively) Of the eyes: able to see clearly; of eyesight: keen, sharp.
23. (archaic, figuratively) Manifest to the mind as light is to the eyes; clear, evident, plain.
24. (figuratively) Of a rhythm or tempo: lively, upbeat.
25. (figuratively) Of a note: slightly sharp.
26. Of a metal object or surface: lacking any protective coating or surface treatment for the prevention of corrosion.

Noun

1. (archaic, literary) Brightness, glow.
2. (archaic, figuratively, literary) Glory, splendour.
3. (in-plural) 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.
5. An artist's brush used in acrylic and oil painting with a long ferrule and a flat, somewhat tapering bristle head.

Adv

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

Verb

1. (British, dialectal, transitive) Often followed by up: to cast light on (someone or something); to brighten, to illuminate.
2. (British, dialectal, figuratively, transitive) 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.
3. (British, also, dialectal, figuratively, intransitive) Often followed by up: to become bright (in various senses); to brighten.

Opposite of

dull, blissed out, blissful, cock-a-hoop, content, delighted, ecstatic, elated, excited, exultant, gay, glad, gleeful, happy, jovial, joyful, on cloud nine, overjoyed, over the moon, pacific, perky, placated, pleased, satisfied, thrilled, tickled pink, triumphant, intelligent, super, supernaturalist

Synonyms

shining

clear

brilliant

light

intelligent

shiny

clever

luminous

radiant

splendid

vivid

lustrous

smart

sharp

cheerful

glorious

brightly

pure

clean

white

glowing

glossy

polished

shine

lively

brilliantly

glittering

gleaming

quick-witted

resplendent

blazing

shrewd

sunny

☀️

dazzling

lucid

fine

ingenious

fair

sparkling

beautiful

beaming

glaring

keen

incandescent

burnished

gorgeous

wise

obvious

lovely

radiantly

Translations

hell

brillant

brillante

brillante

clair

helder

claro

luminoso

lumineux

brilhante

claro

luisant

luminoso

intelligent

leuchtend

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɹaɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bright

Inherited from Old English: beorht

Cognate with Albanian: bardhë

Cognate with Dutch: brecht

Cognate with Icelandic: bjartur

Cognate with Lithuanian: brekšta

Cognate with Middle Irish: brafad

Cognate with Norwegian: bjart

Cognate with Persian: برازیدن

Cognate with Northern Luri: بڵێز

Cognate with Russian: бре́зжить

Cognate with Sanskrit: भ्राजते

Cognate with Scots: bricht

Cognate with Welsh: berth

Inherited from Middle English: brighte

Inherited from Old English: breohte

Inherited from Middle English: brighten

Inherited from Old English: beorhtian

In summary

The adjective is from Middle English bright, from Old English beorht, from Proto-West Germanic *berht, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to shine, to gleam, whiten”).
The noun is derived from Middle English bright (“brightness, brilliance; daylight; light”), from bright (adjective): see above.
The English word is cognate with Albanian bardhë (“white”), Dutch brecht (in personal names), Icelandic bjartur (“bright”), Lithuanian brekšta (“to dawn”), Middle Irish brafad (“blink of an eye”), Norwegian bjart (“bright, clear, shining”), Persian برازیدن (barâzidan, “to beautify; to befit”), Northern Luri بڵێز (bełız, “blaze”) Russian бре́зжить (brézžitʹ, “to dawn; to flicker faintly, glimmer; (figuratively) of a hope, thought, etc.: to begin to manifest, emerge”), Sanskrit भ्राजते (bhrājate), Scots bricht (“bright”), Welsh berth (“beautiful, fair, fine”) (obsolete).

Sentences

It seemed such a little thing , so bright and small and still .

One can imagine these two , covered with sand , running up the little street in the bright sunlight .

Crystals are of frequent occurrence and they usually have very bright and smooth faces .

Next to a bright red couch , a gray wall will appear distinctly greenish .