bright
/brʌɪt
/adjective
1Giving out or reflecting much light; shining: the sun was dazzlingly bright her bright, dark eyes...
- The cannon twitched, and an intense bright light shone from within the barrel.
- His dark eyes were reflecting the bright flashing lights of the carnival, and he looked like the most adorable puppy.
- Her dark eyes were bright with reflected light, and her cheeks were rosy.
Synonyms
shining, light, brilliant, vivid, blazing, dazzling, beaming, intense, glaring;
sparkling, flashing, glittering, scintillating, gleaming, glowing, aglow, twinkling, flickering, glistening, shimmering;
illuminated, lit, lighted, ablaze, luminous, luminescent, radiant, incandescent, phosphorescent, fluorescent;
shiny, lustrous, glossy, sheeny, polished, varnished
literary irradiant, lucent, effulgent, refulgent, fulgent, lucid, glistering, coruscating, lambent, fulgurant, fulgurating, fulgurous
1.1Full of light: the rooms are bright and spacious...
- For the first time, she looked innocent, her bright eyes full of light.
- It was bright, full of pretty things, and I was her new prize.
- This house is bright, comfortable and full of character.
1.2(Of a period of time) having sunny, cloudless weather: the long, bright days of June...
- The day was bright, and surprisingly sunny for the time of year.
- It was a sunny, bright day without a cloud in the azure sky.
- There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the day was bright and sunny.
Synonyms
sunny, sunshiny, cloudless, unclouded, clear, fair, fine
1.3(Of colour) vivid and bold: the bright green leaves...
- They are like cartoons, with their bold lines, bright colours and flat shapes.
- Her hair was weird, though - bright purple and green with blonde streaks.
- Their psychedelic element is heightened by bright, bright colour, like turquoise greens and those hot pinks.
Synonyms
vivid, brilliant, intense, striking, strong, eye-catching, glowing, bold, rich, flamboyant;
gaudy, lurid, garish
1.4Having a vivid colour: a bright tie...
- With tailored suits and ties as bright as a skyrocket, he's dapper.
- I must have spotted at least four of five types of palms, not to mention bright flowers and a variety of crotons.
- The Saloon's doors open onto a terrace and wide lawn bordered by bright flowers.
Synonyms
colourful, bright-coloured, deep-coloured, vivid, brilliant, rich, vibrant
dated gay
2Intelligent and quick-witted: she was amiable, but not very bright a bright idea...
- Intellectually quick-witted and bright, with an abrasive edge, Reid did well in school.
- He's very bright and intelligent and he's, honestly, probably the most wonderful person to look up to.
- The problem he had, he was extremely intelligent, very bright, but he had a face that was just past puberty.
Synonyms
clever, intelligent, sharp, quick-witted, quick, smart, canny, astute, intuitive, acute, alert, keen, perceptive, ingenious, inventive, resourceful, proficient, accomplished, gifted, brilliant
informal brainy, genius
North American informal whip-smart
3Cheerful and lively: at breakfast she would be persistently bright and chirpy she gave a bright smile...
- As Thomas walked, passersby greeted him with a bright smile and a cheerful, ‘Merry Christmas!’
- But she had a bright smile, cheerful face, and an eye for color, so she was excellent at helping out her customers.
- A tall brunette stood behind the front counter in the lobby, giving us a bright, cheerful smile.
Synonyms
happy, genial, cheerful, cheery, jolly, joyful, glad, merry, sunny, light-hearted, blithe, beaming;
vivacious, animated, lively, spirited, high-spirited, exuberant, ebullient, buoyant, effervescent, bubbly, bouncy, perky, chirpy, chipper, zippy, peppy, fresh, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, bright and breezy, full of beans
dated gay
3.1(Of someone’s future) likely to be successful and happy: these young people have a bright future ahead of them...
- I know I'm going to college and that I have a bright future ahead of me - I can already see the light.
- The view of the future was bright, and that prospect made me smile.
- Nowadays, after a glossy makeover, it is a symbol of a thriving European city, facing a bright, optimistic future.
Synonyms
promising, rosy, full of promise, optimistic, hopeful, favourable, propitious, auspicious, providential, encouraging, lucky, fortunate, good, excellent, golden
4(Of sound) clear, vibrant, and typically high-pitched: her voice is fresh and bright...
- The sound is indeed bright and clear most of the time.
- Stephen woke up to sounds of bright laughter in the kitchen.
- The running order of the songs was what I was used to and the bright sound of everything.
Synonyms
clear, vibrant, pellucid;
high-pitched, high
adverb chiefly literary
Brightly: a full moon shining bright...
- Some shine bright, but never seem to hang around for long.
- It was unnerving how bright they shone and so I tried to look away.
- The sun is shining bright in the sky and nobody else is around.
Synonyms
brightly, brilliantly, vividly, intensely
noun (brights)
1Bold and vivid colours: a choice of colours from pastels through to brights...
- It works efficiently as a basic color and can be worn with pastels or brights as accents.
- Summer brights include red, various shades of pink, sunshine yellows and lots of pastel shades and candy colours.
- The brights were light yellow, almost golden colored.
2North American Headlights switched to full beam: he turned the brights on and we drove along the dirt road...
- Getting out of the car, I flipped the brights lever, illuminating the Don.
- Finally, it got too dark to see as even my brights wouldn't show enough of the road to continue on safely.
- Jack finally looked in his rearview mirror, and the woman began flashing her brights at him.
Phrases
bright and early
(as) bright as a button
bright lights
look on the bright side
Derivatives
brightish
- The bright blue star on the left and another brightish blue star in the lower left corner form the horns.
- This eclipse is unusual because the Moon itself eclipses, or occults, a brightish star during totality!
- The brightish star just east of Saturn is Regulus, Alpha Leonis, i.e. the brightest star in Leo.
Origin
Old English beorht, of Germanic origin.