LUMINOUS

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does luminous mean? 

• LUMINOUS (adjective)
  The adjective LUMINOUS has 1 sense:

1. softly bright or radiant

  Familiarity information: LUMINOUS used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LUMINOUS (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Softly bright or radiant

Synonyms:

aglow; lambent; lucent; luminous

Context example:

a sky luminous with stars

Similar:

bright (emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts)

Derivation:

luminosity; luminousness (the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light)

 Context examples 

Very dimly—each is a luminous cloud.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He looked at her and saw her eyes luminous with pity.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The gamma-ray source pinpointed in this new study, called HESS J1640-465, is one of the most luminous discovered so far.

(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)

TRAPPIST-1 is only eight percent the mass of our sun, making it a cooler and less luminous star.

(Astronomers Confirm Orbital Details of TRAPPIST-1’s Least Understood Planet, NASA)

The shadow of a man who was seated in a chair within was thrown in hard, black outline upon the luminous screen of the window.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Measurement of the properties of light, especially luminous intensity.

(Photometry, NCI Thesaurus)

In most developed countries, the ubiquitous presence of artificial lights creates a luminous fog that swamps the stars and constellations of the night sky.

(Milky Way now hidden from a third of humanity, NOAA)

The pressure of starlight from the star, which is 23 times more luminous than the Sun, then expelled the dust far into space.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

Especially intense and luminous galactic centers are known as active galactic nuclei.

(Hubble's Megamaser Galaxy, ESA/NASA)

Fourteen of these sources are such strong emitters of X-rays that astronomers categorize them as “ultra-luminous X-ray sources,” or ULXs.

(Chandra Samples Galactic Goulash, NASA)