fulgent

adjective

ful·​gent ˈfu̇l-jənt  ˈfəl- 

: dazzlingly bright : radiant

fulgently adverb

Did you know?

"The weary Sun betook himself to rest; — / Then issued Vesper from the fulgent west." That's how the appearance of the evening star in the glowing western sky at sunset looked to 19th-century poet William Wordsworth. Fulgent was a particularly apt choice to describe the radiant light of the sky at sunset. The word derives from the Latin verb fulgēre, meaning "to shine," a root which is itself akin to the Latin flagrare, meaning "to burn." English speakers have been using fulgent to depict resplendence since at least the 15th century.

Synonyms

• beaming
• bedazzling
• bright
• brilliant
• candescent
• clear
• dazzling
• effulgent
• glowing
• incandescent
• lambent
• lucent
• lucid
• luminous
• lustrous
• radiant
• refulgent
• sheeny
• shining
• shiny
• splendid

Examples of fulgent in a Sentence

a fulgent sun peeked from behind the clouds

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Latin fulgent-, fulgens, present participle of fulgēre "to shine brightly, flash, lighten" — more at phlegm

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above