What does "brilliantine" mean?

A hair pomade, making the hair shine brilliantly.

What is a synonym for "brilliantine"?

Common synonyms include: balm, balsam, cold cream, cream, demulcent, emollient.

Pronounced //ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn//.

//ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A hair pomade, making the hair shine brilliantly. countable, dated, uncountable
"The hairdresser's shop was warm and glittering. It smelled of soap and burnt paper and wallflower brilliantine."
2
a pomade to make the hair manageable and lustrous wordnet
3
A smooth shiny, luxurious fabric, often of alpaca or vicuña. countable, dated, uncountable
"Bathing Suit of Brilliantine in Navy Blue and Black, trimmed with white mohair braid and buttons (no bloomers). Special 3.95"

Verb

1
To apply brilliantine to the hair. dated
"And the waiter, of course, dips his fingers into the gravy—his nasty, greasy fingers which he is for ever running through his brilliantined hair."

"The hairdresser's shop was warm and glittering. It smelled of soap and burnt paper and wallflower brilliantine."

Borrowed from French brillantine.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.