Meanings
comparative more resplendent · superlative most resplendent · alternative obsolete resplendant
- Shining brilliantly; gleaming; radiant.
The resplendent sun rose over the horizon.
1 more example
The resplendent sun / Shone forth in all his glory.
1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost - Shiny and colorful, and thus pleasing to the eye; splendid in appearance.
The peacock displayed its resplendent plumage.
2 more examples
Soon after the arrival of Mrs. Campbell, dinner was announced by Abboye. He came into the drawing room resplendent in his gold-and-white turban. […] His cummerbund matched the turban in gold lines.
1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the StringsSome birds are feathered tufts of color so resplendent that they stand out brilliantly from their surroundings.
2024 October 31, Ari Daniel, “How parrot plumage gets its dazzling reds and yellows”, in NPR, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2025 - figurativelyMagnificent; glorious; splendid; marked by extraordinary excellence or beauty.
The queen appeared in resplendent majesty.
3 more examples
They celebrated their resplendent victory.
His career was resplendent with achievements.
The resplendent achievements of the English navy.
1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England - mathematicsExhibiting the property of resplendency in Peano arithmetic.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveShiny and colorful, and thus pleasing to the eye; splendid in appearance.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving great beauty and splendor
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinresplendere“to shine back, glitter”
- Latinsplendere“to shine”
- Englishresplendent
From the obsolete sense of the English verb splendish (“to shine”), from Latin splendere (“to shine”), or from resplend + -ent, from Latin resplendere (“to shine back, glitter”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic نَاضِر
- نَاضِر (nāḍir)shiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Bulgarian бляскав
- бляскав (bljaskav)shiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Chinese Mandarin 燦爛 /灿烂
- 燦爛 /灿烂 (cànlàn)shiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Czech zářivý, oslnivý
- zářivýshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- oslnivýshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- třpytivýshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- skvoucíshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Danish strålende
- strålendeshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Dutch sprankelend, blinkend
- sprankelendshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- blinkendshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Finnish loistava, säteileväinen
- loistavashining brilliantly
- säteileväinenshining brilliantly
- loistavashiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- loistavamagnificent, glorious
- upeamagnificent, glorious
French resplendissant, resplendissant
- resplendissantshining brilliantly
- resplendissantshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- magnifiquemagnificent, glorious
- splendidemagnificent, glorious
German strahlend, glänzend
- strahlendshining brilliantly
- glänzendshining brilliantly
- prachtvollshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- prächtigshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- glänzendshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- prachtvollmagnificent, glorious
- herrlichmagnificent, glorious
Greek αστραφτερός
- αστραφτερός (astrafterós)shiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Hungarian ragyogó
- ragyogóshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Māori wheriko
- wherikoshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Polish błyszczący
- błyszczącyshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Portuguese resplendente, resplendente
- resplendenteshining brilliantly
- resplendenteshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- resplandecenteshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- magníficomagnificent, glorious
- esplêndidomagnificent, glorious
Russian сия́ющий, блиста́ющий
- сия́ющий (sijájuščij)shining brilliantly
- блиста́ющий (blistájuščij)shining brilliantly
- блиста́тельный (blistátelʹnyj)shiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- велико́лепный (velikólepnyj)magnificent, glorious
- блиста́тельный (blistátelʹnyj)magnificent, glorious
Spanish resplandeciente, resplandeciente
- resplandecienteshining brilliantly
- resplandecienteshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- magníficomagnificent, glorious
- espléndidomagnificent, glorious
Turkish göz alıcı, muhteşem
- göz alıcıshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- muhteşemshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
- şaşaalıshiny and colorful, pleasing to the eye
Cite this entry
resplendent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resplendent
“resplendent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resplendent. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “resplendent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resplendent.
Source: resplendent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.