Brightness
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The quality of being bright. uncountable, usually
"Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands."
- 2 the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white wordnet
- 3 The perceived luminance of an object. uncountable, usually
- 4 the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light wordnet
- 5 Intelligence, cleverness. figuratively, idiomatic, uncountable, usually
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- 6 intelligence as manifested in being quick and witty wordnet
Example
More examples"The brightness of the sky showed that the storm had passed."
Etymology
From Middle English bryghtnes, brightnesse, from Old English beorhtnes (“brightness, splendor”), from Proto-West Germanic *berhtnassī, equivalent to bright + -ness. Cognate with Old High German berahtnessī, berahtnessi (“brightness”).
Related phrases
More for "brightness"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.