- shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous: the brilliant lights of the city.
- distinguished; illustrious: a brilliant performance by a young pianist.
- having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc.: a brilliant technician.
- strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright: brilliant blues and greens; the brilliant sound of the trumpets.
- splendid or magnificent: a brilliant social event.
- a gem, especially a diamond, having any of several varieties of the brilliant cut.
- a size of type about 3½-point.
- shining with light; sparkling
- (of a colour) having a high saturation and reflecting a considerable amount of light; vivid
- outstanding; exceptional
- splendid; magnificent
- of outstanding intelligence or intellect
- music
- (of the tone of an instrument) having a large proportion of high harmonics above the fundamental
- with spirit; lively
- Also called: brilliant cut
- a popular circular cut for diamonds and other gemstones in the form of two many-faceted pyramids (the top one truncated) joined at their bases
- a diamond of this cut
- (formerly) a size of a printer's type approximately equal to 4 point
