Radiant

//ˈɹeɪ.di.ənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A point source from which radiation is emitted.
  2. 2
    The apparent origin, in the night sky, of a meteor shower.
  3. 3
    A straight line proceeding from a given point, or fixed pole, about which it is conceived to revolve.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Radiating light and/or heat.

    "the radiant sun"

  2. 2
    Emitted as radiation.
  3. 3
    Beaming with vivacity and happiness. figuratively

    "a radiant face"

  4. 4
    Strikingly beautiful. figuratively

    "And yet she was ensnaringly beautiful, despite her pride and self-consciousness; radiant and certain of conquest she stood before the man who alone seemed to have neither eye nor ear for charms that had never elsewhere played her false."

  5. 5
    Emitting or proceeding as if from a center.
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  1. 6
    Giving off rays.

    "the sun radiant"

  2. 7
    Having a ray-like appearance, like the large marginal flowers of certain umbelliferous plants; said also of the cluster which has such marginal flowers.
Adjective
  1. 1
    radiating or as if radiating light wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
effulgentablazeaeroliteaglowalightall powerful

Example

More examples

"The Doppler effect is also observed with light and with radiant energy in general."

Etymology

From Middle English radyant, from Latin radiāns, radiantis, present participle of radiāre (“to emit rays or beams”).

Related phrases

radiant energypoint source

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