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  brilliancy brilliantine  
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   The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
brilliant
 
SYLLABICATION:bril·liant
PRONUNCIATION:  brlynt
ADJECTIVE:1. Full of light; shining. See synonyms at bright. 2. Relating to or being a hue that has a combination of high lightness and strong saturation. 3. Sharp and clear in tone. 4. Glorious; magnificent: the brilliant court life at Versailles. 5. Superb; wonderful: The soloist gave a brilliant performance. 6. Marked by unusual and impressive intellectual acuteness: a brilliant mind; a brilliant solution to the problem. See synonyms at intelligent.
NOUN: A precious gem, especially a diamond, finely cut in any of various forms with numerous facets.
ETYMOLOGY:French brillant, present participle of briller, to shine, from Italian brillare, perhaps from brillo, beryl, from Latin bryllus. See beryl.
OTHER FORMS:brilliant·ly —ADVERB
brilliant·ness —NOUN
 
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
  brilliancy brilliantine  
 
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