brilliant

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++bril·liant /ˈbrɪljənt/ S2 W3 adjective 1 BRIGHTbright 明亮的 brilliant light or colour is very bright and strong 明亮的，光辉夺目的，灿烂的 She closed her eyes against the brilliant light. 强烈的光线下，她闭起了眼睛。 We sat outside in the brilliant sunshine. 我们坐在外面，沐浴在灿烂的阳光下。 She was dressed in brilliant white. 她穿着一身耀眼的白色。► see thesaurus at bright, colour2 GOOD ENOUGHclever 聪明的 extremely clever or skilful 聪颖的，才华横溢的 I think that’s a brilliant idea. 我觉得那是个绝妙的主意。 a brilliant performance 精湛的演出 a brilliant young musician 一位才华横溢的年轻音乐家► see thesaurus at intelligent3 excellent 优秀的，杰出的，极好的 British EnglishGOOD/EXCELLENT excellent 杰出的 The film was absolutely brilliant. 这部电影极为出色。► see thesaurus at goodn GrammarIn this meaning, brilliant is not used with ‘very’. You say: We had an absolutely brilliant time. ✗Don’t say: We had a very brilliant time.4 SUCCESSFULsuccessful 成功的 very successful 极为成功的，辉煌的 He had a long and brilliant career. 他的事业长久而辉煌。 The project was a brilliant success. 这个项目非常成功。 —brilliantly adverb The sun was shining brilliantly. 阳光灿烂。 The goalkeeper played brilliantly. 守门员表现非常出色。

Examples from the Corpus

brilliant• "How was your trip?" "Absolutely brilliant!"• Have you seen her dance? She's absolutely brilliant.• The new series kicks off with brilliant action shots taken at SummerSlam, the record breaking Wembley event.• She's brilliant at handling difficult clients.• a brilliant blue sky• Richard Perle was a brilliant, brooding defense expert with strongly neoconservative leanings.• After a brilliant career at St Luke's Hospital she was given her own department.• a long and brilliant career• Best gross went to Eamon McCaul whose 74 was a brilliant effort in a difficult cross wind.• a brilliant historian• Joanna came up with a brilliant idea for a new book.• a brilliant idea• All of a sudden the stage was flooded with brilliant light.• the brilliant lights of the stadium• Being their son must have meant living constantly in the shadow of two brilliant luminaries.• A brilliant mathematician and a natural-born bomb-maker.• Fans of the novel claim that its stomach-turning violence is a brilliant metaphor for the 1980s culture of consumerism and self-gratification.• Call it foolhardy or brilliant or shocking or crazy.• Michael Horden gave a brilliant performance as King Lear.• The brilliant physicist Paul Dirac first put forward this theory back in 1990.• brilliant red and yellow flowers• a brilliant scientist• His true love, a brilliant student named Adrienne, died in her youth when she was struck by a car.• The decision to reorganize the company was a brilliant success.• A shaft of brilliant sunlight shone through the dusty attic window.• Suddenly, I looked up and saw a point of light that was more brilliant than any star I had ever seen.• Paganini was a brilliant violinist, famous for his technical skill in both playing and composing music.brilliant sunshine• Flanked by the two men, they walked down a wide marble staircase, and out into the brilliant sunshine.• When I left the Trowbridge house, I stood still, blinking in the brilliant sunshine.• But money and the recession were forgotten as I skied in the brilliant sunshine of Obergurgl just a few days before Christmas.• The brilliant sunshine seemed to be mocking her.brilliant idea• Last year, I had what in all due modesty I shall call a brilliant idea.• Many experts, however, reckoned they had the germ of a brilliant idea.• Then Pat and George had a brilliant idea.• When I awoke, though, I had a brilliant idea.• Their keen intellects and powerful personalities could spark off more than just brilliant ideas at times.• Nixon had some brilliant ideas, but he did not build the constituency necessary to carry them out.• But interspersed with these brilliant ideas have come some terrible errors.absolutely brilliant• Admit it - as scams go, this one is absolutely brilliant.• I've just bought Moby's album, Play-it's absolutely brilliant.• The fashion parade was absolutely brilliant.• The Heguy cousins were absolutely brilliant, and both played a wonderful game, scoring most of the goals between them!• And-guess what-it sounds absolutely brilliant. $ band pieces are impressive enough.brilliant success• He is in the winter of his years: august, sophisticated, clearly a brilliant success.• If the former, then the decision, after a nerve-testing time-lag, was a brilliant success.• Some are already in use, and have achieved brilliant success.• Since then Milton Keynes has been called a brilliant success, and a place with no heart or soul.• The concerto was a brilliant success for Barber and Browning.Origin brilliant (1600-1700) French present participle of briller “to shine”, from Italian brillare, probably from Latin beryllus; → BERYL

bril·liant adjective →n GRAMMAR1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable

Corpus light bright or very colour is brilliant

brilliant
bril‧liant S2 W3 /ˈbrɪljənt/

adjective

Date: 1600-1700
Language: French
Origin: present participle of briller 'to shine', from Italian brillare, probably from Latin beryllus; ⇨ beryl

1. BRIGHT brilliant light or colour is very bright and strong:

She closed her eyes against the brilliant light.

We sat outside in the brilliant sunshine.

She was dressed in brilliant white.
2. CLEVER extremely clever or skilful:

I think that’s a brilliant idea.

a brilliant performance

a brilliant young musician
3. EXCELLENT British English excellent:

The film was absolutely brilliant.
4. SUCCESSFUL very successful:

He had a long and brilliant career.

The project was a brilliant success.
—brilliantly adverb:

The sun was shining brilliantly.

The goalkeeper played brilliantly.

🔑 bril·liant

BrE

/ˈbrɪliənt/

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NAmE

/ˈbrɪliənt/

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adjective

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extremely clever or impressive 巧妙的；使人印象深的

◆What a brilliant idea! 真是个绝妙的主意！

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◆a brilliant performance/invention出色的表演；杰出的发明

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very successful 很成功的

◆a brilliant career一帆风顺的事业

◆The play was a brilliant success. 那个剧获得了巨大成功。

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very intelligent or skilful 聪颖的；技艺高的

◆a brilliant young scientist一位才华横溢的青年科学家

◆She has one of the most brilliant minds in the country. 她是全国最有才气的人之一。

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<titled tranID="23" status="1">intelligent</titled>smart ◇ clever ◇ brilliant ◇ bright

These words all describe people who are good at learning, understanding and thinking about things, and the actions that show this ability. 以上各词均形容人有才智、悟性强、聪明。

intelligent good at learning, understanding and thinking in a logical way about things; showing this ability 指有才智的、悟性强的、聪明的：◆He's a highly intelligent man. 他是一个很有才智的人。◆She asked a lot of intelligent questions. 她问了许多机智的问题。
smart (especially NAmE) quick at learning and understanding things; showing the ability to make good business or personal decisions 指聪明的、机敏的、精明的：◆She's smarter than her brother. 她比她哥哥聪明。◆That was a smart career move. 那是个人事业发展上的明智之举。
clever (sometimes disapproving, especially BrE) quick at learning and understanding things; showing this ability 指聪明的、聪颖的：◆How clever of you to work it out! 你解决了这个问题真是太聪明了。◆He's too clever by half, if you ask me. 恕我直言，他未免聪明过头了。 NOTE People use clever in the phrase Clever boy/girl! to tell a young child that they have learnt or done sth well. When used to or about an adult clever can be disapproving. * clever 用于短语 Clever boy/girl!（多么聪颖的男孩／女孩！）表示孩子学习悟性强、做事聪明伶俐。clever 用于成年人可能含贬义。
brilliant extremely intelligent or skilful 指聪颖的、技艺高的：◆He's a brilliant young scientist. 他是一个才华横溢的青年科学家。
bright intelligent; quick to learn 指聪明的、悟性强的：◆She's probably the brightest student in the class. 她大概是班里最聪明的学生。 NOTE Bright is used especially to talk about young people. Common collocations of bright include girl, boy, kid, student, pupil. * bright 主要用于年轻人，常与之搭配的词有 girl、boy、kid、student、pupil 等。

Patterns

clever/brilliant at sth
a(n) intelligent/smart/clever/brilliant/bright child/boy/girl/man/woman
a(n) intelligent/smart/clever/brilliant thing to do

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(of light or colours 光线或色彩) very bright 明亮的；鲜艳的

◆brilliant sunshine明媚的阳光

◆brilliant blue eyes湛蓝的眼睛

<titled tranID="22" status="1">bright</titled>brilliant ◇ vivid ◇ vibrant

These words all describe things that are shining or full of light or colours that are strong and easy to see. 以上各词均形容事物明亮、光线充足、鲜艳夺目。

bright full of light; shining strongly; (of colours) strong and easy to see 指光线充足的、明亮的、色彩鲜明的：◆a bright yellow dress 鲜黄色的连衣裙
brilliant very bright 指明亮的、鲜艳的：◆The sky was a brilliant blue. 天空一片蔚蓝。
vivid (approving) (of colours) bright and strong 指（颜色）耀眼的、鲜艳的、醒目的：◆His eyes were a vivid green. 他的眼睛碧绿。
vibrant (approving) (of colours) bright and strong 指（颜色）耀眼的、鲜艳的、醒目的：◆The room was decorated in vibrant blues and greens. 那房间以鲜艳的蓝绿两色装饰。

vivid or vibrant? 用 vivid 还是 vibrant？

These two words are very similar, but vivid emphasizes how bright a colour is, while vibrant suggests a more lively and exciting colour or combination of colours. 这两个词非常相似，但 vivid 强调颜色鲜艳明亮，而 vibrant 则指色彩或颜色组合活泼而富生气。

Patterns

bright/brilliant/vivid/vibrant colours
bright/brilliant light/sunlight/sunshine/eyes

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(

BrE,

informal

)

very good; excellent 很好的；杰出的

◆'How was it?' 'Brilliant!' “怎么样？” “棒极了！”

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◆Thanks. You've been brilliant (= very helpful). 多谢。你帮大忙了。

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<titled tranID="19" status="1">great</titled>cool ◇ fantastic ◇ fabulous ◇ terrific ◇ brilliant ◇ awesome ◇ epic

These are all informal words that describe sb/sth that is very good, pleasant, enjoyable, etc. 以上各词均为非正式用语，表示美妙的、使人快乐的、令人愉快的等。

great (informal) very good; giving a lot of pleasure 指美妙的、好极的、使人快乐的：◆We had a great time in Madrid. 我们在马德里玩得很开心。
cool (informal) used to show that you admire or approve of sth, often because it is fashionable, attractive or different 指因时髦、漂亮或与众不同而令人钦佩的、绝妙的、顶呱呱的：◆I think their new song's really cool. 我认为他们的新歌棒极了。
fantastic (informal) extremely good; giving a lot of pleasure 指极好的、了不起的、非常愉快的：◆'How was your holiday?' 'Fantastic!' “你假期过得好吗？” “棒极了！”
fabulous (informal) extremely good 指极好的、绝妙的：◆Jane's a fabulous cook. 简的烹饪技巧堪称一绝。Fabulous is slightly more old-fashioned than the other words in this set. * fabulous 较这组词中的其他词稍显过时。
terrific (informal) extremely good; wonderful 指极好的、绝妙的、了不起的：◆She's doing a terrific job. 她活儿干得真棒。
brilliant (BrE, informal) extremely good; wonderful 指极好的、绝妙的、了不起的：◆'How was the show?' 'Brilliant!' “演出怎么样？” “棒极了！”
awesome (informal, especially NAmE) very good, impressive, or enjoyable 指极好的、令人惊叹的、极好玩的：◆The show was just awesome. 演出实在棒极了。
epic (informal) very good, impressive or enjoyable 极好的；给人深刻印象的；令人愉快的：◆The adventure and action are truly epic in scope. 惊险刺激的动作场面的确壮观。