Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state or quality of being bright.
  • noun The effect or sensation by means of which an observer is able to distinguish differences in luminance.
  • noun The dimension of a color that represents its similarity to one of a series of achromatic colors ranging from very dim (dark) to very bright (dazzling).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or quality of being bright; splendor; luster; glitter: as, “the brightness of the sun,” Acts xxvi. 13.
  • noun Acuteness of intellect or faculty; sharpness of wit.
  • noun Cheer; cheerfulness.
  • noun Synonyms Brilliancy, effulgence.—2. Acumen, mother-wit, ingenuity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being bright; splendor; luster; brilliancy; clearness.
  • noun Acuteness (of the faculties); sharpness 9wit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the quality of being bright
  • noun the perception elicited by the luminance of an object
  • noun intelligence, cleverness

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun intelligence as manifested in being quick and witty
  • noun the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light
  • noun the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

bright +‎ -ness

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