Words / C1

LOOM-in-uh-s/ˈluːmɪnəs/

Luminous means giving off light, or strikingly bright and noticeable: luminous paint, a luminous performance (figurative). Bright is everyday; lucid (this batch) is “clear to the mind”. Luminosity is the noun. Do not call a dark stairwell “atmospherically luminous” in a safety audit.

Meaning

Giving off light, or very bright and easy to notice.

Examples

• “Luminous paint on the stair edge is a safety line, not décor.”
• “Bright is everyday. Glowing is a cousin. Lucid is clear thinking or prose. Fluorescent is a technical cousin. Metaphorical luminous praise is fine in a review, not in a fire report that needs lux numbers.”

Good to know

Glowing / strikingly bright. Everyday: bright. Cousin: lucid (clear). Safety paint is a specification, not a vibe.

Near in meaning

bright

New