bright

Where “bright” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.
2. 2
   Of light: brilliant, intense.
3. 3
   Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high lustre; gleaming, shiny.
4. 4
   Of a place: not dark; well-lit.
5. 5
   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.
6. 6
   Clearly apparent; conspicuous.
7. 7
   Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid.
8. 8
   Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful.
9. 9
   Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear, resounding, and often high-pitched.
10. 10
    Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high frequencies.
11. 11
    Of a scent or taste: having an agreeable balance of sweet and sour, often with associations of coolness, freshness, and sometimes aromaticity.
12. 12
    Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong.
13. 13
    Of a substance: clear, transparent; also, pure, unadulterated; (specifically) of wine: free of suspended particles; not cloudy; fine.
14. 14
    Glorious; illustrious.
15. 15
    In good spirits; happy, optimistic.
16. 16
    Of the face or eyes, or a smile: showing happiness or hopefulness; cheerful, lively.
17. 17
    Of a person: lively, vivacious.
18. 18
    Of a period of history or time: happy, prosperous, successful.
19. 19
    Of an opportunity or outlook: having a reasonable chance of success; favourable, good.
20. 20
    Of conversation, writing, etc.: imaginative or sparkling with wit; clever, witty.
21. 21
    Having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent.
22. 22
    Of the eyes: able to see clearly; of eyesight: keen, sharp.
23. 23
    Manifest to the mind as light is to the eyes; clear, evident, plain.
24. 24
    Of a rhythm or tempo: lively, upbeat.
25. 25
    Of a note: slightly sharp.
26. 26
    Of a metal object or surface: lacking any protective coating or surface treatment for the prevention of corrosion.

Etymology

The adjective is from Middle English bright, from Old English beorht, from Proto-West Germanic *berht, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to shine, to gleam, whiten”). The noun is derived from Middle English bright (“brightness, brilliance; daylight; light”), from bright (adjective): see above. The English word is cognate with Albanian bardhë (“white”), Dutch brecht (in personal names), Icelandic bjartur (“bright”), Lithuanian brekšta (“to dawn”), Middle Irish brafad (“blink of an eye”), Norwegian bjart (“bright, clear, shining”), Persian برازیدن (barâzidan, “to beautify; to befit”), Northern Luri بڵێز (bełız, “blaze”) Russian бре́зжить (brézžitʹ, “to dawn; to flicker faintly, glimmer; (figuratively) of a hope, thought, etc.: to begin to manifest, emerge”), Sanskrit भ्राजते (bhrājate), Scots bricht (“bright”), Welsh berth (“beautiful, fair, fine”) (obsolete).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbright,birght,brgiht,brigght,brighht,brightt,brigth,brihgt,brright,rbight

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bright - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions