Brilliant means outstanding or extremely clever: people use it about a strong specialist, a clever idea or excellent work. In informal British English, brilliant also means “great” as a reply to good news. In everyday English the stone is not called a brilliant: it is a diamond. And a very clever idea, the kind a genius might have, is called a brilliant idea.
brilliant: will you get the meaning right?
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a brilliant + idea/student/career; be brilliant at + noun/-ing; Brilliant! (BrE, informal) = great
- Our new designer came up with a brilliant idea for the conference poster.
- My sister is brilliant at chemistry, so she helps me before every exam.
- 'I've booked the train tickets for Saturday morning.' 'Brilliant, thanks for sorting that out!'
What changed
First versionHe gave her a brilliant ring for their anniversary.
RevisionHe gave her a diamond ring for their anniversary.
In several languages a word like brilliant means a cut diamond, which leads to brilliant ring. An English speaker will understand it as “an excellent ring” and won't guess that you mean the stone. In everyday English the stone is a diamond, so the right phrase is a diamond ring.
Brilliant is not the word for everything that shines. It can mean “shining” in a figurative sense (a brilliant career) or describe strong light and bright colour: brilliant sunshine. If a surface shines, use shiny: shiny shoes.
Your turn
Tom solved the hardest problem in five minutes; he is ___ at maths.
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brilliant — Someone who solves the hardest problem in five minutes is very strong at maths: brilliant at maths. Genial may look related to genius, but it means friendly and cheerful, and it isn't used with at.
Write about a person you admire. Say what they are especially good at (brilliant at …) and give one specific example.
My colleague Marta is brilliant at negotiating: last month she persuaded our supplier to cut prices by ten per cent.
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