black vs bright

black

adj
  • Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color. Compare white (“said of a character or symbol outline, not filled with color”). 

  • Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless. 

  • Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. 

  • Of the spades or clubs suits. Compare red (“of the hearts or diamonds suit”) 

  • Clandestine; relating to a political, military, or espionage operation or site, the existence or details of which is withheld from the general public. 

  • Foul; dirty, soiled. 

  • Occult; relating to something (such as mystical or magical knowledge) which is unknown to or kept secret from the general public. 

  • Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen. 

  • Without any cream, milk, or creamer. 

  • Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc) that is dark (or black); in taxonomy, especially: dark in comparison to another species with the same base name. 

  • Belonging to or descended from any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. (See usage notes below.) 

  • Bad; evil; ill-omened. 

  • Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess the set used by the player who moves second) (often regardless of the pieces' actual colour). 

  • Illegitimate, illegal or disgraced. 

  • Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. 

  • Anarchist; of or pertaining to anarchism. 

  • Overcrowded. 

  • Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above). 

  • Without light. 

  • Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic. (Compare blackmouth ("Presbyterian").) 

noun
  • Blackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups. 

  • The edge of home plate. 

  • A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment. 

  • The black ball. 

  • The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed. 

  • A black dye or pigment. 

  • A member of descendant of any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. (See usage notes.) 

  • A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour. 

  • The person playing with the black set of pieces. 

  • Something, or a part of a thing, which is black. 

  • Marijuana. 

  • A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat. 

  • Black cloth hung up at funerals. 

verb
  • To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute. 

  • To make black; to blacken. 

  • To apply blacking to (something). 

bright

adj
  • Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful. 

  • Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear, resounding, and often high-pitched. 

  • Of the face or eyes, or a smile: showing happiness or hopefulness; cheerful, lively. 

  • Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high lustre; gleaming, shiny. 

  • Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid. 

  • Clearly apparent; conspicuous. 

  • In good spirits; happy, optimistic. 

  • Of climate or weather: not cloudy or gloomy; fair; also, of a period of time, the sky, etc.: characterized by much sunshine and good weather. 

  • Of conversation, writing, etc.: imaginative or sparkling with wit; clever, witty. 

  • Of an opportunity or outlook: having a reasonable chance of success; favourable, good. 

  • Of a place: not dark; well-lit. 

  • Of a period of history or time: happy, prosperous, successful. 

  • Of light: brilliant, intense. 

  • Of a person: lively, vivacious. 

  • Glorious; illustrious. 

  • Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong. 

  • Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant. 

  • Having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent. 

  • Of a rhythm or tempo: lively, upbeat. 

  • Of a metal object or surface: lacking any protective coating or surface treatment for the prevention of corrosion. 

  • Of a substance: clear, transparent; also, pure, unadulterated; (specifically) of wine: free of suspended particles; not cloudy; fine. 

  • Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high frequencies. 

noun
  • A person with a naturalistic worldview with no mystical or supernatural elements. 

  • Something (especially a product intended for sale) that has vivid colours or a lustrous appearance. 

  • An artist's brush used in acrylic and oil painting with a long ferrule and a flat, somewhat tapering bristle head. 

adv
  • Referring to colour: with bold or vivid colours; brightly, boldly, vividly. 

  • In a bright manner; brightly, glowingly, luminously, lustrously. 

verb
  • Often followed by up: to become bright (in various senses); to brighten. 

  • Often followed by up: to cast light on (someone or something); to brighten, to illuminate. 

  • Often followed by up: to cause (someone or something) to be bright (in various senses); to brighten; specifically, to make (someone or something) energetic, or happy and optimistic. 

How often have the words black and bright occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )