brilliancy

noun

bril·​lian·​cy ˈbril-yən(t)-sē How to pronounce brilliancy (audio)
plural brilliancies
1
2
: an instance of brilliance

Examples of brilliancy in a Sentence

the brilliancy of the diamond is shown to good effect by the museum's lighting
Recent Examples on the Web The Red Planet, shining at magnitude –1.4, is 40° to the east-northeast, and the king of planets, Jove, still near its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude –2.8, lies 46° west-southwest of Luna. Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2022 Set emerald green against bright white to highlight its brilliancy. Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Jan. 2022 Tonight also sees Venus is at greatest brilliancy, so get eyes-on with the second planet from the Sun right after sunset. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2021 One of these stars may rise from almost invisibility to a brilliance equaling 100,000,000 times the brilliancy of our sun, although, of course, such super novae are so far away that the estimates can be made only with telescopes. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 17 Dec. 2020 The truth is that in the history of chess, spanning more than a millennium, there hasn’t been a single human brilliancy, however wayward and unexpected, that a computer could not have located. Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brilliancy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1732, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brilliancy was in 1732

Dictionary Entries Near brilliancy

Cite this Entry

“Brilliancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brilliancy. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

brilliancy

noun
bril·​lian·​cy ˈbril-yən-sē How to pronounce brilliancy (audio)
plural brilliancies

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