as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the brilliancy of the diamond is shown to good effect by the museum's lighting
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Recent Examples of brilliancy
So, astronomers have come up with a compromise regarding the geometry of the sun's illumination angle on Venus' disk versus its distance from Earth to determine the time of Venus' greatest brilliancy.
—
Joe Rao, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Family circles will have wrapped themselves in the holy pleasures of the great occasion, and everywhere the grand old holiday will have been introduced with all the majesty and brilliancy which clings around the hallowed name of Christmas.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
The Red Planet, shining at magnitude –1.4, is 40° to the east-northeast, and the king of planets, Jove, still near its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude –2.8, lies 46° west-southwest of Luna.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2022
Set emerald green against bright white to highlight its brilliancy.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Jan. 2022
Tonight also sees Venus is at greatest brilliancy, so get eyes-on with the second planet from the Sun right after sunset.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2021
One of these stars may rise from almost invisibility to a brilliance equaling 100,000,000 times the brilliancy of our sun, although, of course, such super novae are so far away that the estimates can be made only with telescopes.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 17 Dec. 2020
The truth is that in the history of chess, spanning more than a millennium, there hasn’t been a single human brilliancy, however wayward and unexpected, that a computer could not have located.
—Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
Joe Rao, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Family circles will have wrapped themselves in the holy pleasures of the great occasion, and everywhere the grand old holiday will have been introduced with all the majesty and brilliancy which clings around the hallowed name of Christmas.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
The Red Planet, shining at magnitude –1.4, is 40° to the east-northeast, and the king of planets, Jove, still near its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude –2.8, lies 46° west-southwest of Luna.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2022
Set emerald green against bright white to highlight its brilliancy.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Jan. 2022
Tonight also sees Venus is at greatest brilliancy, so get eyes-on with the second planet from the Sun right after sunset.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2021
One of these stars may rise from almost invisibility to a brilliance equaling 100,000,000 times the brilliancy of our sun, although, of course, such super novae are so far away that the estimates can be made only with telescopes.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 17 Dec. 2020
The truth is that in the history of chess, spanning more than a millennium, there hasn’t been a single human brilliancy, however wayward and unexpected, that a computer could not have located.
—Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brilliancy
Noun
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The punchy liquid stays put and works nicely as underpaint for a glow beneath base makeup, or for stand-alone brightness in multidimensional shades like Starlite (rose gold with shimmer) and Good Vibes (deep fuchsia with pearlescent particles).—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Both of the Pop projectors are rated to deliver 700 lumens of brightness, but the EF62 sports a 4K resolution while the EF61 is full HD.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Innovation is often portrayed as the lone genius’s spark of brilliance.—
David Henkin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Stars are easily resolved within seconds and an enhanced vision time of two minutes is more than enough to show their brilliance.—
Harry Bennett,
Space.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Open-weave knitwear also had a strong showing, offering texture and lightness in equal measure.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
17 Sep. 2025
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Tubular steel for strength, plywood for lightness, glass to maximize daylight—these were engineering as much as design.—
Daniel Scheffler,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brilliancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brilliancy. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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