brill

IPA/brɪl/
KK[brˈɪl]IPA/brɪl/

brill — adjective

  • brillpositive
  • brillercomparative
  • brillestsuperlative

1. very good, or a lot of fun, in casual British speech.

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

very good, or a lot of fun, in casual British speech.

Example

Your idea for a class video at the night market is brill.

be brill

The cousins had a brill weekend at the lake.

brill + noun

Common collocations
  • brill idea
  • brill weekend
  • brill gift
  • absolutely brill
Synonyms
  • great

    more general and less distinctly British

  • excellent

    more formal and less playful

  • brilliant

    the full form, often a little more emphatic

  • fantastic

    stronger and more excited in tone

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be brill

brill + noun

Usage Note

Common in spoken British English, especially after 'be' and with words like 'idea', 'time', or 'weekend'. Many speakers prefer the full form 'brilliant' in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

The trip was very brill.
The trip was brill.
'brill' already carries the idea of strong praise.

brill — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

For adjective sense 1, brill is short, upbeat British slang for saying something is extremely good. Great is the broad everyday choice and sounds more neutral. Excellent is stronger in quality but more formal, so it fits school reports, work emails, and careful praise better than brill. Brilliant is the full form behind brill and often feels a little more emphatic or expressive. Fantastic adds excitement and surprise, but it can sound stronger than needed for small things. Say 'The trip was brill' with friends after a fun day out. Say 'The trip was excellent' in a review or report.

brill ↗great ↗excellent ↗brilliant ↗fantastic ↗

Etymology

Old CornishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Brill has two different histories. The fish name appears in Middle English as brell and is probably linked to a Celtic source, perhaps an old Cornish word connected with the idea of being speckled. The informal adjective is much newer and simply shortens brilliant in British speech. So the sea-fish noun and the praise word look the same today, but they did not grow from the same earlier word.