luminous
adjective
Lincoln La Paz
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Luminous, like its synonyms radiant, shining, glowing, and lustrous, is generally a positive adjective, especially when it describes something that doesn't literally glow, such as a face, a performance, or a poem. Luminous signs depend on a gas such as neon, krypton, argon, xenon, or radon—and you can use luminous (DayGlo) paint to make your own signs. New technologies have now given us luminous fabrics, which are being used to produce striking or creepy effects in clothing, upholstery, and interior surfaces.
Synonyms
- beaming
- bedazzling
- bright
- brilliant
- candescent
- clear
- dazzling
- effulgent
- fulgent
- glowing
- incandescent
- lambent
- lucent
- lucid
- lustrous
- radiant
- refulgent
- sheeny
- shining
- shiny
- splendid
Example Sentences
Kiana Murden, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2022 Liquid or cream bronzers provide a luminous glow for dry or normal skin. ELLE, 22 Apr. 2022 The image dazzles from a computer screen in the corner of the room: six beams of red-orange light bursting from a luminous Milky Way star. Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 15 Apr. 2022 And up the stairs comes this luminous, amazing, sort of angelic, beautiful person... Town & Country, 28 Aug. 2022 Two decades earlier, in the 1970s, Rees correctly hypothesized that supermassive black holes power the luminous jets observed in some far-off, brightly glowing galaxies called quasars. Thomas Lewton, Quanta Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 Posing with her head tilted to one side, her skin luminous, the actor looked relaxed and happy. Hannah Coates, Vogue, 15 Aug. 2022 Herbig-Haro objects are luminous regions that surround newborn stars. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 15 Aug. 2022 Schaar is luminous and mischievous as Rosalind, who grows to relish the freedom of discarding her 1950s crinoline dress and high heels for manly apparel and a pencil moustache. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Latin luminosus, from lumin-, lumen
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing luminous
Kids Definition
luminous
adjective
George Selden, The Cricket in Times Square Medical Definition
luminous
adjective
luminous
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- glowing
- dazzling
- shining
- bright
- radiant
- shiny
- brilliant
- shimmering
- gleaming
- sparkling
- lustrous
- effulgent
- glittering
- refulgent
- incandescent
- splendid
- candescent
- lucent
- flickering
- lambent
- fulgent
- blazing
- flashing
- lucid
- glistening
- sheeny
- beaming
- clear
- fiery
- blinding
- polished
- burning
- bedazzling
- flaming
- shined
- glimmering
- scintillant
- twinkling
- scintillating
- shimmery
- sunny
- glinting
- ardent
- aglitter
- glistering
- agleam
- glaring
- burnished
- winking
- gemmy
- flaring
- ablaze
- glancing
- combusting
- ultrabright
- coruscant
- superbright
- red-hot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- dim
- dark
- dull
- dusky
- sombre
- darkened
- somber
- lackluster
- obscure
- gloomy
- blackened
- lightless
- darkish
- unlit
- obscured
- shadowy
- murky
- darkling
- dimmed
- darksome
- tenebrous
- unbright
- cloudy
- pale
- unbrilliant
- gray
- grey
- pitch-dark
- shady
- pitch-black
- leaden
- shadowlike
- palish
- sunless
Synonyms & Similar Words
- outstanding
- distinguished
- prestigious
- illustrious
- bright
- famous
- notable
- noteworthy
- star
- signal
- eminent
- superior
- noble
- glorious
- celebrated
- honored
- astral
- renowned
- redoubtable
- preeminent
- infamous
- exalted
- famed
- dominant
- notorious
- reputable
- predominant
- paramount
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- insignificant
- unimportant
- minor
- average
- mediocre
- obscure
- inferior
- unsung
- uncelebrated
Synonyms & Similar Words
- unmistakable
- obvious
- apparent
- evident
- clear
- straightforward
- distinct
- lucid
- transparent
- broad
- visible
- pellucid
- perspicuous
- unequivocal
- simple
- unambiguous
- plain
- crystal clear
- manifest
- palpable
- patent
- ringing
- bald
- unambivalent
- comprehensible
- barefaced
- intelligible
- tangible
- luculent
- nonambiguous
- decided
- noticeable
- clear-cut
- explicit
- understandable
- bright-line
- recognizable
- graspable
- open-and-shut
- uncomplicated
- knowable
- appreciable
- tidy
- bald-faced
- observable
- perceptible
- digestible
- sensible
- discernible
- comprehendible
- readable
- trenchant
- cognizable
- legible
- fathomable
- undisguised
- cognoscible
- self-evident
- overt
- clean
- self-explanatory
- clean-cut
- well-defined
- black-and-white
- discernable
- decipherable
- fair
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- dark
- mysterious
- enigmatic
- ambiguous
- obscure
- indistinct
- cryptic
- equivocal
- incomprehensible
- clouded
- unclear
- enigmatical
- unfathomable
- unknowable
- unintelligible
- imperceptible
- gray
- indecipherable
- subtle
- impalpable
- grey
- inappreciable
- hazy
- vague
- unapparent
- nonobvious
- misty
- nebulous
- cloudy
- indeterminate
- indefinite
- gauzy
- insensible
- murky
- slippery
- unclarified
- sketchy
- imprecise
- obfuscated
- indiscernible
- unreadable
- noncommittal
- illegible
- undecipherable
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of luminous are bright, brilliant, lustrous, and radiant. While all these words mean "shining or glowing with light," luminous implies emission of steady, suffused, glowing light by reflection or in surrounding darkness.
In some situations, the words bright and luminous are roughly equivalent. However, bright implies emitting or reflecting a high degree of light.
Although the words brilliant and luminous have much in common, brilliant implies intense often sparkling brightness.
While the synonyms lustrous and luminous are close in meaning, lustrous stresses an even, rich light from a surface that reflects brightly without glittering.
The words radiant and luminous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, radiant stresses the emission or seeming emission of rays of light.