luminous

adjective

lu·​mi·​nous ˈlü-mə-nəs 

1

a

: emitting or reflecting usually steady, suffused, or glowing light

luminous objects—the nebula, the stars, the planets

—Lincoln La Paz

b

: of or relating to light or to luminous flux

2

: bathed in or exposed to steady light

luminous with sunlight

3

: clear, enlightening

a luminous explanation

4

: shining, illustrious

a luminous film star

a luminous performance

luminously adverb

luminousness noun

Did you know?

Luminous, like its synonyms radiant, shining, glowing, and lustrous, is generally a positive adjective, especially when it describes something that doesn't literally glow, such as a face, a performance, or a poem. Luminous signs depend on a gas such as neon, krypton, argon, xenon, or radon—and you can use luminous (DayGlo) paint to make your own signs. New technologies have now given us luminous fabrics, which are being used to produce striking or creepy effects in clothing, upholstery, and interior surfaces.

Synonyms

• beaming
• bedazzling
• bright
• brilliant
• candescent
• clear
• dazzling
• effulgent
• fulgent
• glowing
• incandescent
• lambent
• lucent
• lucid
• lustrous
• radiant
• refulgent
• sheeny
• shining
• shiny
• splendid

Choose the Right Synonym for luminous

bright, brilliant, radiant, luminous, lustrous mean shining or glowing with light.

bright implies emitting or reflecting a high degree of light.

brilliant implies intense often sparkling brightness.

radiant stresses the emission or seeming emission of rays of light.

luminous implies emission of steady, suffused, glowing light by reflection or in surrounding darkness.

lustrous stresses an even, rich light from a surface that reflects brightly without glittering.

Examples of luminous in a Sentence

I saw the cat's luminous eyes in my car's headlights.

a watch with a luminous dial

The room was luminous with sunlight.

Recent Examples on the Web

Summer is your time to shine, so embrace the luminous look of liquid metal flashes for both your outfit and glam. —Adam Mansuroglu, WWD, 14 June 2024

View More The watercolor, though, feels a world apart from his luminous silhouettes and vivid storylines. —Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024

At that time, a batch of Zenith wristwatches issued to the Army Signal Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces in 1917 features a rather prominent 24-hour ring beneath the luminous, outer Arabic 12-hour track. —Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 13 June 2024

Is the Is Are, released four years later, had the same post-punk undergirding, but the oil-slick guitar leads glimmered with an even more luminous beauty, and Zachary Cole Smith’s murmured hooks sliced through the balmy instrumentation like LED headlights. —Eli Enis, SPIN, 23 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin luminosus, from lumin-, lumen

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing luminous

• luminous energy
• luminous flux
• luminous paint
• self-luminous

Kids Definition

luminous

adjective

lu·​mi·​nous ˈlü-mə-nəs 

1

: giving off light : shining

2

: being lighted

a public square luminous with sunlight

3

: clear entry 1 sense 3

luminous writing

4

: illustrious

luminously adverb

luminousness noun

Medical Definition

luminous

adjective

lu·​mi·​nous ˈlü-mə-nəs 

1

: emitting or reflecting usually steady, suffused, or glowing light

2

: of or relating to light or to luminous flux