fulgidity means splendour; resplendence; effulgence. It carries an Arena rating of 1661, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fulgidity ranks #796 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,482 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,197 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #3,017 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
Why “fulgidity” is a great word
The quality of being dazzlingly brilliant, a flashing and intense splendour. From the Latin *fulgēre* ('to shine, flash') + the English suffix *-id* + the connective *-i-* + the abstract noun-forming suffix *-ty*; first attested in 1656 by Thomas Blount. Unlike 'luminosity,' which suggests a steady emission of light, or 'radiance,' which conveys a warm, emanating glow, fulgidity is sharp, sudden, and overwhelming. It is the momentary strike of lightning on a polished shield, the blinding glance of sun on a blade, or the impossible, jewel-bright flash in a raven’s eye—a beauty so fierce it feels less like an illumination than a wound.
Etymology
From fulgid + -ity. By surface analysis, Latin fulg(ere) + -id + -i- + -ty.
noun
- splendour; resplendence; effulgencee.g.“The ceruleous canopy was merging into fulgidity from the ascension of Phoebus—every entity about me seemed to revel in the universal resuscitation.” — 1870, Samuel Klinefelter Hoshour, Letters to Squire Pedant: In the East:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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