as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the exceptional effulgence of the harvest moon is always a striking sight
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Recent Examples of effulgence
Though the Star of Bethlehem has sunk, yet its sacred effulgence beams forth periodically, again and again, and a universe is filled with joy in honor of the Great Redeemer.
—
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
Maggie Rogers paired her of-the-moment shag with natural notes—bare skin, freckles, grass—as elsewhere, Elle Fanning enjoyed the lit effects of golden hour, which took her complexion and blanched blonde to new levels of effulgence.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 July 2022
Absent from Van Noten’s three-decade career are stories of bankruptcy, strife, irresponsibility, overleverage, overexpansion, overspending or unhinged, dangerous effulgence.
—Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 23 Dec. 2024
Maggie Rogers paired her of-the-moment shag with natural notes—bare skin, freckles, grass—as elsewhere, Elle Fanning enjoyed the lit effects of golden hour, which took her complexion and blanched blonde to new levels of effulgence.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 July 2022
Absent from Van Noten’s three-decade career are stories of bankruptcy, strife, irresponsibility, overleverage, overexpansion, overspending or unhinged, dangerous effulgence.
—Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effulgence
Noun
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If preparing the tzatziki ahead, wait to add the fresh mint and dill until just before serving to preserve their brightness.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
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Delivering 550 nits of brightness and full 4K resolution at 60Hz, the espresso Pro is capable of displaying more than a billion colors.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Caused by sunlight-scattering dust in the Martian atmosphere, that unexpected brilliance seems to be planet-wide—save for a region near the world’s north pole.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
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Also, the brilliance of Tolstoy and Chekhov and Dostoevsky, these geniuses that have gone down in history.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Noun
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Known for creating minimal spaces using futuristic textures such as aluminum, the store continues Yoshioka’s obsession with creating a sense of lightness within the retail environment.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
18 May 2026
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Nguyen tenderly captures the lightness, freedom and exhilaration of being in water and reigning over the waves, rules of gravity be damned.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effulgence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effulgence. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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