Standard Lemma guide

effulgent

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈfʌldʒ(ə)nt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɛ-/
  • Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ɪˈfʌld͡ʒənt/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Radiant, resplendent, shining.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: also, figuratively, literary

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: profulgent, aglow, alight, beamful, beamsome, beamy, brilliant, effulgent, glowing, illuminating, lambent, lighted, lit, lucent, luciferous, lucific, luminant, luminiferous, luminous, lustrous, orient, radiant, refulgent, resplendent, sheeny, shining, shiny

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

radiating or as if radiating light

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the beaming sun
  • the effulgent daffodils
  • a radiant sunrise
  • a refulgent sunset

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beaming, beamy, radiant, refulgent

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin effulgēns (“flashing, glittering”), present participle of effulgeō (“to shine or gleam forth, flash, glitter”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘out; away’)) + fulgeō (“to flash, gleam, glisten, glitter, shine”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bhel- (“shiny; white”)). By surface analysis, ef- + Latin fulg(ere) + -ent.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: сияещ (sijaešt) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Bulgarian: лъчезарен (lǎčezaren) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鮮麗 /鲜丽 (xiānlì) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Chinese Mandarin: 絢 /绚 (xuàn) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • French: rayonnant — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • French: rayonnante — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Georgian: მოკაშკაშე (moḳašḳaše) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • German: glänzend — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • German: strahlend — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Hungarian: fénylő — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Ido: brilanta — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Ido: splendida — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Northern Kurdish: teyisî — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Northern Kurdish: tîrêjdar — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Manx: lonragh — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Polish: promienny — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Polish: promienisty — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Portuguese: fúlgido — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Russian: лучеза́рный (lučezárnyj) — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining
  • Vietnamese: sáng ngời — radiant, resplendent, shining — see also radiant, resplendent, shining