ENGLISH
REFERENCE

brill

adj.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈbɹɪɫ// UK //bɹˈɪl// brill Slang

adj. very good or wonderful. It is a short way of saying 'brilliant' and is used in casual conversation.

adj. excellent, impressive, or highly pleasing. A clipped form of 'brilliant' used in informal British English.


SIMPLE

That movie we saw last night was absolutely brill.

CONTEXTUAL

I had a brill time at the concert and can't wait to see them perform again.

COMPLEX

While some critics found the play a bit simplistic, the general audience thought the lead actor's performance was brill and gave him a standing ovation.

Usage

Typically used as a predicative adjective after linking verbs like 'be', 'look', or 'sound'.

Pitfall

He is a brill person.He is a brilliant person.While 'brill' is common in casual speech, it can sound overly childish or dated when used as an attributive adjective in writing; 'brilliant' is preferred.

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