Meaning & use
iridescence
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Meanings
noununcountable
A glowing play of colors that seem to change as the angle of view or light changes.
Grammar: Uncountable: the iridescence of a soap bubble.
Patterns
- the iridescence of something
The iridescence of the beetle's shell shifted from green to blue.
Sunlight brought out the iridescence in the oil on the puddle.
She admired the soft iridescence of the pearl.
noununcountableliteraryfigurative
A shimmering, changing beauty or brilliance, used figuratively.
Grammar: Literary use for something that seems to shift and sparkle.
Patterns
- the iridescence of something
The novel captures the iridescence of a summer night.
Her talk had an iridescence that charmed the room.
He admired the iridescence of her wit.
Common combinations
- shimmering iridescence
- The shimmering iridescence of the wings dazzled us.
- soft iridescence
- A soft iridescence covered the shell.
- iridescence of a peacock
- The iridescence of a peacock's feathers changes with each step.
- mother-of-pearl iridescence
- The mother-of-pearl iridescence shone in the lamplight.
- oily iridescence
- An oily iridescence floated on the puddle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shimmer
- Shimmer is a soft, flickering light and does not require changing colors.
- opalescence
- Opalescence is a milky, rainbow glow like an opal, gentler than iridescence.
- luster
- Luster is a general shine on a surface, without the color shifting.
- sheen
- Sheen is a smooth, soft shine, usually in a single color.
Opposites
Word family
- iridescent adjective
- showing shifting colors
- iridescently adverb
- in a color-shifting way
- iris noun
- the colored part of the eye, from the Greek for rainbow
- irisation noun
- the rainbow effect caused by light interference
Commonly confused: iridescence or luminescence?
iridescence vs luminescence
Luminescence means giving off light on its own, such as a glowworm; iridescence is only about reflected, changing color.
Practice
The hummingbird's throat showed a bright ____ that shifted from green to purple.
Choose one answer.
Iridescence is the shifting play of color seen from different angles. Incandescence is glowing with heat, which is not described here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “iridescence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.