radiant
1 of 2adjective
ra·di·ant ˈrā-dē-ənt 
1
a
: radiating rays or reflecting beams of light
b
: vividly bright and shining : glowing
2
: marked by or expressive of love, confidence, or happiness
a radiant smile
3
a
: emitted or transmitted by radiation
b
: emitting or relating to radiant heat
radiantly adverb
radiant
2 of 2noun
: something that radiates: such as
a
: a point in the heavens at which the visible paths of meteors appear to meet when traced backward
b
: the part of a gas or electric heater that becomes incandescent
Synonyms
Adjective
- aglow
- beaming
- bright
- glowing
- sunny
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective She had a radiant inner glow. She looked radiant at her wedding.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kathy Orton, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2022 The lower floor features radiant heated terra cottta floors and exposed original wooden beams. Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2022 For skin so radiant that onlookers will feel moved to put on their sunglasses, look no further than Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age-Defying Exfoliator. Allure Editors, Allure, 13 Sep. 2022 The unit also has keyed elevator entry, 10-foot-high ceilings and white oak flooring as well as radiant heated floors in the bathrooms. Katherine Clarke, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 Despite the injury, the radiant smile remained with Schwalm. Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2022 This triple-powered microdermabrasion treatment is amplified by active enzymes, micro-exfoliants, and caffeine for smoother, visibly radiant skin. Daisy Maldonado, SELF, 2 Sep. 2022 The campaign imagery, captured on a tropical island, encapsulates the couple’s radiant romance, enhancing the symbolism of Graff’s bridal collection. Lauren Tappan, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2022 Gigi Hadid has been laying low for a few months now, rarely sharing snippets from her private life on social media—but in a new series of candid photos taken by her sister Bella Hadid, the supermodel looks happy and radiant. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 Aug. 2022 Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 26 July 2022 The key is to keep the radiant of the meteor shower in view (the constellation of Perseus, which will be rising in the northeast after sunset) and the full Moon out of it. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Finally, ending the day with a live interview on The Tonight Show, Bieber looked radiant in a nearly sheer, sequined dress with a keyhole cutout from 16Arlington. Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 16 June 2022 Packed with restorative and nourishing ingredients, this shampoo will have your curls looking perky and radiant in no time. The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 May 2022 While on a daytime date with her boyfriend Marc Kalman, the model looked radiant in a preppy-meets-grungy uniform. Eni Subair, Vogue, 11 May 2022 The square-radiant-shaped, 1.79-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond was originally called the Stella Diamond. Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 17 June 2022 In a photograph posted to Instagram early last March, Judith Kasiama is the absolute picture of alpine joy, posed on a summit with a smile as radiant as the snow frosting the peak beneath her feet. Shawnté Salabert, Outside Online, 25 Oct. 2018 Its radiant -- the point from which meteor paths appear to come from -- rises in midevening, is highest around 2 a.m. local time and is low in the sky by dawn. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 28 July 2022 See More
Adjective
The owner’s en suite bathroom has a skylight, a double vanity, a soaking tub and separate shower, a heated towel rack and radiant-heat flooring. Kathy Orton, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2022 The lower floor features radiant heated terra cottta floors and exposed original wooden beams. Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2022 For skin so radiant that onlookers will feel moved to put on their sunglasses, look no further than Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age-Defying Exfoliator. Allure Editors, Allure, 13 Sep. 2022 The unit also has keyed elevator entry, 10-foot-high ceilings and white oak flooring as well as radiant heated floors in the bathrooms. Katherine Clarke, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 Despite the injury, the radiant smile remained with Schwalm. Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2022 This triple-powered microdermabrasion treatment is amplified by active enzymes, micro-exfoliants, and caffeine for smoother, visibly radiant skin. Daisy Maldonado, SELF, 2 Sep. 2022 The campaign imagery, captured on a tropical island, encapsulates the couple’s radiant romance, enhancing the symbolism of Graff’s bridal collection. Lauren Tappan, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2022 Gigi Hadid has been laying low for a few months now, rarely sharing snippets from her private life on social media—but in a new series of candid photos taken by her sister Bella Hadid, the supermodel looks happy and radiant. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 Aug. 2022 Noun
The actress—who is an executive producer on the show—looked sun-kissed and radiant in an ivory minidress with gold accents. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 26 July 2022 The key is to keep the radiant of the meteor shower in view (the constellation of Perseus, which will be rising in the northeast after sunset) and the full Moon out of it. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Finally, ending the day with a live interview on The Tonight Show, Bieber looked radiant in a nearly sheer, sequined dress with a keyhole cutout from 16Arlington. Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 16 June 2022 Packed with restorative and nourishing ingredients, this shampoo will have your curls looking perky and radiant in no time. The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 May 2022 While on a daytime date with her boyfriend Marc Kalman, the model looked radiant in a preppy-meets-grungy uniform. Eni Subair, Vogue, 11 May 2022 The square-radiant-shaped, 1.79-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond was originally called the Stella Diamond. Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 17 June 2022 In a photograph posted to Instagram early last March, Judith Kasiama is the absolute picture of alpine joy, posed on a summit with a smile as radiant as the snow frosting the peak beneath her feet. Shawnté Salabert, Outside Online, 25 Oct. 2018 Its radiant -- the point from which meteor paths appear to come from -- rises in midevening, is highest around 2 a.m. local time and is low in the sky by dawn. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 28 July 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
circa 1741, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing radiant
Kids Definition
radiant
adjective
ra·di·ant ˈrā-dē-ənt
1
: giving out or reflecting rays of light
the radiant sun
2
: glowing with love, confidence, or joy
a radiant smile
3
: transmitted by radiation
Medical Definition
radiant
adjective
ra·di·ant ˈrād-ē-ənt
1
: emitted or transmitted by radiation
2
: emitting or relating to radiant heat
radiant
adjective
1
as in glowing
having or being an outward sign of good feelings (as of love, confidence, or happiness) she left the interview with a radiant smile on her face, confident she had gotten the job a radiant bride Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- glowing
- bright
- beaming
- smiling
- sunny
- cheerful
- dazzling
- gleaming
- aglow
- joyful
- luminous
- shining
- laughing
- merry
- satisfied
- brilliant
- happy
- delighted
- effulgent
- starry
- refulgent
- blissful
- optimistic
- cheery
- chipper
- pleased
- joyous
- upbeat
- jovial
- rosy
- gladsome
- blithe
- blooming
- mirthful
- lightsome
- blithesome
- gay
- thankful
- jocund
- gratified
- tickled
- chuffed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- stoic
- listless
- stoical
- dark
- black
- flat
- gray
- unemotional
- melancholy
- grey
- sullen
- blank
- gloomy
- glum
- dismal
- depressing
- darkening
- glaring
- frowning
- glowering
- lowering
- louring
- scowling
2
as in luminous
giving off or reflecting much light from the plane we could see the statehouse's radiant gold dome Synonyms & Similar Words
- luminous
- glowing
- shining
- dazzling
- bright
- shiny
- shimmering
- gleaming
- effulgent
- refulgent
- beaming
- sparkling
- lustrous
- incandescent
- glittering
- lambent
- blazing
- brilliant
- lucent
- candescent
- flickering
- glistening
- flashing
- fulgent
- splendid
- lucid
- sheeny
- fiery
- polished
- burning
- blinding
- clear
- flaming
- shined
- bedazzling
- twinkling
- glimmering
- sunny
- shimmery
- ardent
- glistering
- scintillating
- scintillant
- glinting
- aglitter
- glaring
- agleam
- combusting
- flaring
- ablaze
- glancing
- burnished
- winking
- gemmy
- coruscant
- ultrabright
- red-hot
- superbright
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- dim
- dusky
- dark
- dull
- blackened
- darkened
- sombre
- darkish
- gloomy
- darkling
- somber
- lackluster
- dimmed
- lightless
- pale
- obscure
- unlit
- cloudy
- obscured
- shadowy
- darksome
- gray
- murky
- grey
- unbright
- tenebrous
- sunless
- unbrilliant
- pitch-black
- pitch-dark
- shady
- leaden
- palish
- shadowlike
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of radiant are bright, brilliant, luminous, and lustrous. While all these words mean "shining or glowing with light," radiant stresses the emission or seeming emission of rays of light.
The words bright and radiant can be used in similar contexts, but bright implies emitting or reflecting a high degree of light.
Although the words brilliant and radiant have much in common, brilliant implies intense often sparkling brightness.
While in some cases nearly identical to radiant, luminous implies emission of steady, suffused, glowing light by reflection or in surrounding darkness.
The meanings of lustrous and radiant largely overlap; however, lustrous stresses an even, rich light from a surface that reflects brightly without glittering.