Radiant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɹeɪ.di.ənt/

Definitions

1. Emitting or reflecting bright light or heat; showing joy, love, or health in a glowing way
2. Shining brightly with light or heat while displaying happiness, beauty, or vitality through a luminous appearance
3. Glowing with intense light or warmth and expressing joy, health, or attraction through a brilliant, luminescent quality

Etymology: Radiant began as a Latin participle describing motion outward. The Latin verb "radiare" meant to emit rays or beams, and its present participle "radians" (genitive "radiantis") described something actively sending light or lines out from a centre. English borrowed the idea through Middle English "radyant," so the word has always carried the sense of light pouring forth rather than simply being bright. That outward-flowing image explains why the word still reaches beyond light itself. Something radiant is not merely lit but seems to give off its brightness, which is why people can be radiant with joy or health, as if an inner glow were streaming out of them. The metaphor follows the same logic as the original Latin: the beams are imagined as leaving the source and reaching the viewer.

Synonyms: bright, luminous, glowing

Antonyms: dull, dim, gloomy