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Brilliant vs Beautiful - What's the difference?

brilliant | beautiful |

As adjectives the difference between brilliant and beautiful

is that brilliant is shining brightly while beautiful is attractive and possessing charm.

As a noun brilliant

is a finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, having many facets.

brilliant

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Shining brightly.
  • the brilliant lights along the promenade
  • (of a colour) Both bright and saturated.
  • butterflies with brilliant blue wings
  • (of a voice or sound) having a sharp, clear tone
  • Of surpassing excellence.
  • The actor's performance in the play was simply brilliant .
  • Magnificent or wonderful.
  • Highly intelligent.
  • She is a brilliant scientist.

    Synonyms

    * (shining brightly) glittering, shining * * * (surpassing excellence) excellent, distinctive, striking, superb (obsolete except in UK usage) * (magnificent or wonderful) exceptional, glorious, magnificent, marvellous/marvelous, splendid, wonderful (obsolete except in UK usage) * (highly intelligent) brainy, ingenious * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, having many facets.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • This snuffbox — on the hinge see brilliants shine.
  • * 1891 , Arthur Conan Doyle, A Case of Identity
  • “And the ring?” I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger.
  • (printing) A small size of type.
  • A kind of cotton goods, figured on the weaving.
  • beautiful

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Attractive and possessing charm.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=5 citation , passage=‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’}}
  • (of the weather) Pleasant; clear.
  • Well executed.
  • (as a pro-sentence ) How beautiful that is!
  • (referring to an athlete catching a ball)
  • (as a pro-sentence; ironic ) How unfortunate that is!
  • Usage notes

    The comparatives beautifuler' and '''beautifuller''', and the superlatives '''beautifulest''' and ' beautifullest have also occasionally been used, but are considered dated or obsolete.

    Synonyms

    * (possessing charm and attractive) beauteous, attractive, cute, fair, good-looking, gorgeous, sheen, handsome, hot (slang), lovely, nice-looking, pretty, shapely, fit (slang) * (of the weather) clear, fine, nice, pleasant, sunny * (well executed) excellent, exceptional, good, great, marvellous/marvelous, perfect, stylish, wonderful * great, marvellous/marvelous, nice, very nice, wonderful (any of these can be prefixed with an intensifier such as'' bloody, damned ''or just) * See also

    Antonyms

    * (possessing charm and attractive) grotesque, hideous, homely, plain, misshapen, repulsive, ugly; unbeautiful * (of the weather) bad, cloudy, dull, miserable, overcast, rainy, wet * (well executed) average, bad, mediocre, poor, shoddy, substandard, terrible, weak

    Derived terms

    * beautiful armadillo * beautiful game * beautiful people * beautifully * beautifulness