Brill
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.
Words to choose between 5
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| professional |
-
playful
Fits when brief slang praise suits sport or youth conversation
Careful Ace is also regional, ambiguous, and informal.
-
playful
Fits when retro informal delight fits the voice
Careful Fab can sound dated or deliberately camp.
-
everyday
Fits when British enthusiasm is wanted in a more widely understood form
Careful Brilliant can praise intelligence and is less clipped or playful.
-
everyday
Fits when casual broad praise is enough
Careful Great is generic and may sound automatic.
-
professional
Fits when clear approval must suit formal and international readers
Careful Excellent removes the slang warmth.
Opposites 3
- awful
- poor
- disappointing
Common phrases 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.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Brill is informal British slang and is unsuitable for formal praise.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated