[bright] adj [ME, fr. OE beorht; akin to OHG beraht bright, Skt bhrajate it shines] (bef. 12c) 1 a: radiating or reflecting light: shining, sparkling "~ lights" "~ eyes" b: sunny "a ~ day"; also: radiant with happiness "~ smiling faces" "~ moments"
2: illustrious, glorious "~est star of the opera"
3: beautiful
4: of high saturation or brilliance "~ colors"
5. a: lively, cheerful "be ~ and jovial among your guests --Shak." b: intelligent, clever "a ~ idea" "~ children"
6: auspicious, promising "~ prospects for the future" -- bright adv -- bright.ly adv syn 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 sparkling or glittering.
[2]bright n (1969): a bright color--usu. used in pl. "rich earth tones and crisp ~s --Patricia Peterson"