bright
Part of speech: adj
noun
adv
Morphological type: simple
Topics: engineering
entertainment
lifestyle
metallurgy
music
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
Etymology: The adjective is from Middle English bright, from Old English berht, beorht, bryht, byrht, from Proto-West Germanic *berht, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to gleam, shine, whiten”).
The noun is derived from Middle English bright (“brightness, brilliance; daylight; light”), from bright (adjective): see above.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots bricht (“bright”), Danish bjært (“bright”), Faroese and Icelandic bjartur (“bright”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjart (“bright”), Swedish bjärt (“bright”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷𐍄𐍃 (bairhts, “bright, clear; evident”); also Welsh berth (“beautiful, fair, fine”), Albanian bardhë (“white”), Lithuanian brėkšti (“to dawn”), Polish brzeżdżyć (“to dawn”), Russian бре́зжить (brézžitʹ, “to dawn”), Persian برازیدن (barâzidan, “to beautify; to befit”).
Inflected forms:
form: brighter
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: brightest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: brights
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: more bright
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: most bright
pos: adv
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.
pos: adj
examples: The sky was remarkably bright and blue on that beautiful summer day.
Where the bright Seraphim in burning row / Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow; / And the Cherubick hoſt in thouſand quires / Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires, […]
Thee Father firſt they ſung Omnipotent, / […] that brighteſt Seraphim / Approach not, but with both their wings veil thir eyes.
There were very few people about, and though the sun was bright, and the air clear and fresh, the big, grim-looking waves, that seemed dark themselves because the foam that topped them was like snow, forced themselves in through the narrow mouth of the harbour—like a bullying man going through a crowd.
gloss: Of light: brilliant, intense.
pos: adj
examples: Could you please dim the light? It’s far too bright.
gloss: Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high lustre; gleaming, shiny.
pos: adj
gloss: Of a place: not dark; well-lit.
pos: adj
examples: It was said that the Irish whom [Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of] Feversham had let loose were marching on London and massacring every man, woman, and child on the road. At one in the morning the drums of the militia beat to arms. […] Before two the capital wore a face of stern preparedness which might well have daunted a real enemy, if such an enemy had been approaching. Candles were blazing at all the windows. The public places were as bright as at noonday.
gloss: Of climate or weather: not cloudy or gloomy; fair; also, of a period of time, the sky, etc.: characterized by much sunshine and good weather.
pos: adj
examples: [H]e felt the influence of the bright sky, and looked up smiling into its deep unfathomable blue.
Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
gloss: Clearly apparent; conspicuous.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder.
gloss: Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: Her step was quick; her eye piercing, and of the brightest blue; […]
gloss: Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: The orange and blue walls of the sitting room were much brighter than the dull grey walls of the kitchen.
Here the bright crocus and blue vi'let glow; / Here weſtern winds on breathing roſes blow.
Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
gloss: Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear, resounding, and often high-pitched.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high frequencies.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a scent or taste: having an agreeable balance of sweet and sour, often with associations of coolness, freshness, and sometimes aromaticity.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a substance: clear, transparent; also, pure, unadulterated; (specifically) of wine: free of suspended particles; not cloudy; fine.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: From […] the brighteſt Wines / He'd turn abhorrent.
gloss: Glorious; illustrious.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: And 'twas the worſt, if not the only ſtain, / I'th' brighteſt Annals of a Female Reign.
gloss: In good spirits; happy, optimistic.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: I woke up today feeling so bright that I decided to have a little dance.
Their spirits had risen a little at the discovery of the path, but now they sank into their boots; and yet they would not give it up and go away. The hobbit [Bilbo Baggins] was no longer much brighter than the dwarves. He would do nothing but sit with his back to the rock-face and stare[…].
gloss: Of the face or eyes, or a smile: showing happiness or hopefulness; cheerful, lively.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: Bright eyes / Burning like fire / Bright eyes / How can you close and fail? / How can the light that burned so brightly / Suddenly burn so pale? / Bright eyes
gloss: Of a person: lively, vivacious.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: Come on: / Gentle my Lord, ſleeke o're your rugged Lookes, / Be bright and Iouiall among your Gueſts to Night.
gloss: Of a period of history or time: happy, prosperous, successful.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: She has a bright future ahead.
Yesterday / Was a nicer day / Will we ever find / That time? / Yesterday / Was a brighter day / Could it ever be / That way?
Things are going great, and they're only getting better / I'm doing all right, getting good grades / The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
It's been raining the whole summer / The brightest days are few and far between
gloss: Of an opportunity or outlook: having a reasonable chance of success; favourable, good.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: If he trains hard, his chances of winning the competition are bright.
gloss: Of conversation, writing, etc.: imaginative or sparkling with wit; clever, witty.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: She’s very bright. She was able to solve the problem without my help.
―Ah, God, Corley replied, sure I couldn't teach in a school, man. I was never one of your bright ones, he added with a half laugh, Got stuck twice in the junior at the Christian Brothers.
Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.
gloss: Of the eyes: able to see clearly; of eyesight: keen, sharp.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
figuratively
gloss: Manifest to the mind as light is to the eyes; clear, evident, plain.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
figuratively
examples: [T]he Queriſt muſt not proceed too ſwiftly towards the Determination of his Point propos'd, that he may with more Eaſe, with brighter Evidence, and with ſurer Succeſs draw the Learner on to aſſent to thoſe Principles ſtep by ſtep, from whence the final Concluſion will naturally ariſe.
gloss: Of a rhythm or tempo: lively, upbeat.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a note: slightly sharp.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a metal object or surface: lacking any protective coating or surface treatment for the prevention of corrosion.
pos: adj
gloss: Brightness, glow.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
literary
examples: Thee Father firſt they ſung Omnipotent, / […] when thou ſhad'ſt / The full blaze of thy beams, and through a cloud / Drawn round about thee like a radiant Shrine, / Dark with exceſſive bright thy ſkirts appeer, / Yet dazle Heav'n, […]
gloss: Glory, splendour.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
figuratively
literary
gloss: Something (especially a product intended for sale) that has vivid colours or a lustrous appearance.
pos: noun
tags: in-plural
gloss: A person with a naturalistic worldview with no mystical or supernatural elements.
pos: noun
examples: Brights constitute 60% of American scientists, and a stunning 93% of those scientists good enough to be elected to the elite National Academy of Sciences (equivalent to Fellows of the Royal Society) are brights.
Many of us brights have devoted considerable time and energy at some point in our lives to looking at the arguments for and against the existence of God, and many brights continue to pursue these issues, hacking away vigorously at the arguments of believers as if they were trying to refute a rival scientific theory. But not I.
[Richard] Dawkins has received appreciative letters from people who were formerly what he derisively calls "faith-heads" who have abandoned their delusions and come over to the side of the brights, the pleasant green pastures where clear-eyed, brave, bold, and supremely brainy atheists graze contentedly.
gloss: An artist's brush used in acrylic and oil painting with a long ferrule and a flat, somewhat tapering bristle head.
pos: noun
gloss: In a bright manner; brightly, glowingly, luminously, lustrously.
pos: adv
tags: literary
often
gloss: Referring to colour: with bold or vivid colours; brightly, boldly, vividly.
pos: adv
tags: figuratively
gloss: Referring to sight, sound, understanding, etc.: clearly, distinctly; brightly.
pos: adv
tags: archaic
figuratively
Derived words: bright and morning star
bright as a button
bright as a new button
bright as a new coin
bright as a new dollar
bright as a new penny
bright as a new pin
brighten
bright-eyed
bright eyed and bushy tailed
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
bright field
bright giant
bright green
brightish
brightleaf
bright lights
bright lights and cold steel
bright line
bright-line rule
brightly
bright nail
brightness
bright-rumped attila
Bright Saturday
bright shiny object
bright side
brightsizing
brightsmith
bright soliton
brightsome
bright spark
brights
bright spot
Bright Week
brightwork
bright young people
Bright Young Thing
bright young thing
cold steel and bright lights
early bright
embrighten
eyebright
gold-bright
honour bright
look on the bright side
look on the bright side of it
meadow bright
night-bright
noblebright
overbright
radio-bright
Retr0bright
see-bright
sunbright
superbright
the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long
ultrabright
unbright
underbright
bright and early
Translations: