Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brilliantine

/ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.14 in modern English

Syllables: bril-liantine
IPA: /ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn/

14

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A hair pomade, making the hair shine brilliantly.

Countable; Dated; Uncountable

noun

A smooth shiny, luxurious fabric, often of alpaca or vicuña.

Countable; Dated; Uncountable

verb

To apply brilliantine to the hair.

Dated

Example Sentences

"The hairdresser's shop was warm and glittering. It smelled of soap and burnt paper and wallflower brilliantine."
""I wouldn't regret it," said Linda, "if I took Eileen by the shoulders and shook her till I shook the rouge off her cheek, and the brilliantine off her hair, and a million mean little subterfuges out of her soul."
"Bathing Suit of Brilliantine in Navy Blue and Black, trimmed with white mohair braid and buttons (no bloomers). Special 3.95"
"And the waiter, of course, dips his fingers into the gravy—his nasty, greasy fingers which he is for ever running through his brilliantined hair."

Etymology

Borrowed from French brillantine.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

brilliantines (plural) brilliantines (present, singular) brilliantining (participle, present) brilliantined (participle, past) brilliantined (past)

Questions

How do you pronounce brilliantine?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn/.
What does brilliantine mean?: A hair pomade, making the hair shine brilliantly.
Where does brilliantine come from?: Borrowed from French brillantine.

How to pronounce brilliantine

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “brilliantine”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbrɪl.jən.tiːn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “brilliantine”.
Repeat and practice — Say “brilliantine” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.