1
as in glare
brightness created by light reflected from a surface
the emerald had a pure, icy green luminance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brightness
the quality or state of having or giving off light
the landscapes of the French painter Claude Lorraine have a unique luminance that no other artist has quite captured
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of luminance
The temperature of intermediate-mass quark-gluon plasma in the early universe was estimated to have been 3.25 trillion degrees Kelvin; a flaring black hole was observed to have a peak luminance equivalent to 10 trillion suns; and Earth’s magnetosphere is negative on the dawn side.
—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
This perhaps had something to do with the curious luminance of the boy’s face, as in paintings of saints, as though the glow were the emanation of grace.
—
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
This process of measuring maximum and minimum luminance levels and color capabilities of each TV and then mapping signals to each TV model’s capabilities continues with Dolby Vision 2.
—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Mobile photography shone bright for aurorae, and for capturing luminance from solar winds.
—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for luminance
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
This perhaps had something to do with the curious luminance of the boy’s face, as in paintings of saints, as though the glow were the emanation of grace.
—
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
This process of measuring maximum and minimum luminance levels and color capabilities of each TV and then mapping signals to each TV model’s capabilities continues with Dolby Vision 2.
—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Mobile photography shone bright for aurorae, and for capturing luminance from solar winds.
—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for luminance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luminance
Noun
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This variable star is also located 250 light-years from Earth, but is sadly lost from view in the glare of the sun during the summer months.
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Meanwhile, Warren’s second pitch of that plate appearance made for some chin music — more so than the one that Contreras walked on — and earned a glare from the batter.
Noun
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The continental climate brings cooler summers and colder winters, a boon for wine lovers seeking aromatics and brightness over weight and ripeness.
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Lowering your phone’s brightness can actually help preserve your night vision.
Noun
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Like the living room, the bedroom is painted the same flat white but the quality of the eastern light filtering into the bedroom casts a buttery glow.
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By the end of the movie, even something as natural as daylight has become suffused with a heavenly glow, and the beads of sweat on a dying body sparkle with a beauty that Emily had never been able to find anywhere else in her tragedy of a life.
Noun
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The result is an incredible repository of vexations, bafflements, witticisms, and brilliancies.
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So, astronomers have come up with a compromise regarding the geometry of the sun's illumination angle on Venus' disk versus its distance from Earth to determine the time of Venus' greatest brilliancy.
Noun
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Then buff the steel with a dry cloth, wiping in the same direction as the metal's grain to bring back that gleam.
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After a while, though, all the professions of sincerity and thanks, the constant invocations of the one true POTUS, and the worshipful exhibits upstairs give the whole place a cultish, nostalgic gleam.
Noun
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Three extraordinary new books, published this year, shed light on the brilliance and complexity of Morrison’s life and work, and place her as an American eminence, a visionary who saw fiction as a means through which to recast her country’s story.
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France has emerged as the World Cup's benchmark team, showcasing unparalleled individual brilliance and collective chemistry.
Noun
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They were joined by a growing number of international rescue teams who began to climb through the rubble, offering a small glint of hope to anguished families.
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They were joined by a growing number of international rescue teams who began to climb through the ruins, offering a glint of hope to anguished families.
Noun
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The movement here is made from 274 components, with a focus on lightness, transparency, and volume.
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Ease, fluidity and lightness in terms of proportion and material — silk, linen and cotton.
Cite this Entry
“Luminance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luminance. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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