Brill
adj.joyful, energeticplayful
What it means
Excellent or delightful in informal British English.
Reach for it when giving short casual praise in a voice that naturally uses the slang
The student actors gave a brill matinee performance.
Choose between these
5- playful
brief slang praise suits sport or youth conversation
not when Ace is also regional, ambiguous, and informal.
- playful
retro informal delight fits the voice
not when Fab can sound dated or deliberately camp.
- everyday
British enthusiasm is wanted in a more widely understood form
not when Brilliant can praise intelligence and is less clipped or playful.
- everyday
casual broad praise is enough
not when Great is generic and may sound automatic.
- professional
clear approval must suit formal and international readers
not when Excellent removes the slang warmth.
Said against
3- awful
- poor
- disappointing
It naturally appears in
3- brill idea
A late-opening repair cafe is a brill idea.
- brill day
We had a brill day learning to sail.
- absolutely brill
The improvised final song was absolutely brill.
Where this comes from
Brill is informal British slang and is unsuitable for formal praise.
- Wiktionary, English adjective British slang sense: excellent opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.