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verb

brillare

shine

Mandare fuori una luce forte e chiara, oppure farsi notare molto per bellezza o valore.

Definition & meaning

  • To shine or sparkle: to give off or reflect a bright light, as a star, jewel, or polished surface does.
  • To stand out or excel: figuratively, to be outstanding because of talent, intelligence, or another quality.
  • To detonate: in technical usage, to set off an explosive charge.

Grammar & Word origin

Brillare is a regular first-conjugation verb ending in -are. It is usually intransitive: its compound tenses normally use the auxiliary avere . In the sense “to detonate something,” it is transitive.

It comes from French briller , “to shine.”

Synonyms & antonyms

  • luccicare — to glitter or glisten, often with small flashes of reflected light.
  • splendere — to shine brightly or radiantly; often more emphatic.
  • eccellere — to excel, specifically in the figurative sense of standing out.
  • offuscarsi — to become dim or obscured, an opposite of shining.
  • sfigurare — to make a poor showing, contrasting with excelling.

Common phrases & collocations

  • brillare di luce propria — to shine by one’s own light; figuratively, to stand out through one’s own qualities.
  • brillare per la propria assenza — to be conspicuous by one’s absence.
  • brillare una mina — to detonate a mine.

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Examples

La luna comincia a brillare nel cielo.verb

The moon begins to shine in the sky.

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