brilliant vs exceptional

brilliant

adj
  • Of surpassing excellence. 

  • Highly intelligent. 

  • Magnificent or wonderful. 

  • Both bright and saturated. 

  • Shining brightly. 

  • Having a sharp, clear tone. 

noun
  • A finely cut gemstone, especially a diamond, cut in a particular form with numerous facets so as to maximize light return through the top (called "table") of the stone. 

  • Most hummingbird species of the genus Heliodoxa. 

  • A kind of cotton goods, figured on the weaving. 

exceptional

adj
  • Better than the average; superior due to exception or rarity. 

  • Corresponding to something of lower dimension under a birational correspondence. 

  • Forming an exception; not ordinary; uncommon; rare. 

noun
  • An exception, or something having an exceptional value 

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