profulgent
/pɹəˈfʌld͡ʒənt/
profulgent · adj — shining out; gleaming. It carries an Arena rating of 1450, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, profulgent ranks #563 of 17,136 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,554 of 17,138 for Most Sublime Words, #3,486 of 17,153 for The Improbable, #4,095 of 17,136 for Most Satisfying to Say.
profulgent is pronounced /pɹəˈfʌld͡ʒənt/.
Why “profulgent” is a great word
Shining out brightly; radiant or gleaming. From Latin pro- ("forth") + fulgeō ("to shine"). Unlike "effulgent" (which suggests a brilliant radiance emanating from within) or "luminous" (which describes the property of emitting steady light), profulgent emphasizes the active, directional act of shining outward. It is the sun striking a distant shield, the lighthouse beam shearing through fog, or the sudden, defiant glint of a window catching the last of the sunset—light not as a state of being, but as a decisive verb, a brightness that reaches and insists.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From pro- + Latin fulgeō (“to shine”).
adj
- Shining out; gleaming.e.g.“Truth may stand forth unmoved of change, / An image with profulgent brows, / And perfect limbs, […]” — 1830, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “[Juvenilia.] Supposed Confessions of a Second-rate Sensitive Mind”, in The Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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