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éclat

sparkle, brilliance

noun eh-KLAH Less Common
Descriptions & Qualities Appearance

Also means

splinter, fragment

Usage Note

Éclat has two quite different senses: dazzling brilliance (l'éclat du soleil — 'the brilliance of the sun') and a sharp fragment (un éclat de verre — 'a shard of glass'). The expression rire aux éclats means to burst out laughing. The adjective éclatant ('dazzling', 'resounding') shares the same root.

Examples

"Elle sourit avec tout l'éclat de sa jeunesse."

Natural Translation

She smiled with all the brilliance of her youth.

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