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⇱ RADIANT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com


radiant

American  
[rey-dee-uhnt] / ˈreɪ di ənt /

adjective

  1. emitting rays of light; shining; bright.

    the radiant sun;

    radiant colors.

    Synonyms:
    resplendent, refulgent, beaming
    Antonyms:
    dim
  2. bright with joy, hope, etc..

    radiant smiles;

    a radiant future.

  3. Physics. emitted or propagated by radiation.

  4. Heraldry.

    1. noting a partition line having a series of flamelike indentations formed by ogees joined in zigzags; rayonny.

    2. (of a charge, as an ordinary) having an edge or edges so formed.


noun

  1. a point or object from which rays proceed.

  2. Astronomy. the point in the heavens from which a shower of meteors appears to radiate.

  3. a refractory absorbing and radiating heat from the flames of a gas fireplace or the like.

radiant British  
/ ˈreɪdɪənt /

adjective

  1. sending out rays of light; bright; shining

  2. characterized by health, intense joy, happiness, etc

    a radiant countenance

  3. emitted or propagated by or as radiation; radiated

    radiant heat

  4. sending out heat by radiation

    a radiant heater

  5. physics (of a physical quantity in photometry) evaluated by absolute energy measurements Compare luminous

    radiant flux

    radiant efficiency

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a point or object that emits radiation, esp the part of a heater that gives out heat

  2. astronomy the point in space from which a meteor shower appears to emanate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
radiant Scientific  
/ rādē-ənt /
  1. Transmitting light, heat, or other radiation. Stars, for example, are radiant bodies.

  2. Consisting of or transmitted as radiation.


  1. The apparent celestial origin of a meteor shower. For example, a point in the constellation Gemini is the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower.

Related Words

See bright.

Other Word Forms

  • antiradiant adjective
  • nonradiant adjective
  • nonradiantly adverb
  • radiantly adverb
  • superradiant adjective
  • unradiant adjective

Etymology

Origin of radiant

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin radiant-, stem of radiāns “shining,” present participle of radiāre “to radiate light, shine,” verb derivative of radius “beam, ray”; radius

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Our mother was an incredible woman—a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” they said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

The result is neither winter nor spring, but something that holds both: earthy, sweet, quietly radiant.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

Ahead of the ceremony, she warmed Manchester up with a radiant, candlelit charity gig at the city's Albert Hall venue on Thursday.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Will you be surprised to learn he carries with him a dark secret, or that his estranged wife, as opposed to the radiant daughter of the boat’s skipper, is one doozy of a femme fatale?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

Everything, for a moment—mirror, ceiling, floor—was unstable and radiant as a dream.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.