Brilliance

How to spell brilliance

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce brilliance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does brilliance mean?

1. nounOutstanding intelligence, skill, or talent.
2. nounIntense brightness or radiance of light.

Brilliance in a sentence

• The surgeon was respected for her quiet brilliance in the operating theatre.

• The brilliance of the morning sun forced her to lower the blinds.

• His report showed real brilliance in solving a problem nobody else could crack.

• The diamond was prized for the brilliance of every cut facet.

Where does brilliance come from?

Language of origin: French

The word traces back through French to the verb briller, meaning 'to shine' or 'to sparkle', which French borrowed from the Italian brillare with the same glittering sense. Many scholars connect this family ultimately to the Latin beryllus, the name of the beryl, a clear, precious gemstone that catches and scatters light, so the earliest idea was literally the dazzle of a polished jewel. The adjective brilliant entered English in the early 1700s describing things that shone or sparkled, and the abstract noun brilliance was formed from it by adding the suffix -ance to name the quality itself. Over time the meaning broadened from physical glitter to a figurative dazzle, so a person of outstanding intellect or talent could be said to possess brilliance. The double l and the -iance ending preserve the French shape of briller, which is exactly the spot where writers slip.

How the word is built

• brilli- (from French briller: to shine)
• -ance (noun-forming suffix denoting a quality or state)