reh-SPLEN-dent

Definition

(adjective) Impressively beautiful or dazzling in appearance; radiating brilliance or splendor.

Example

The ballroom was resplendent on the night of the gala — every surface catching the light differently, the whole room humming with a beauty that felt almost too deliberate to be real.

Word Origin

Resplendent derives from the Latin resplendere, meaning “to shine brightly” — built from re- (used as an intensifier) and splendere (“to shine” or “to gleam”). The same root gives us splendid and splendor, but resplendent carries the intensifier that pushes it beyond mere brightness into something that actively radiates. It entered English in the 15th century, used to describe visual magnificence so complete it seems to emit rather than merely reflect light.