incandescent
Americanadjective
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(of light) produced by incandescence.
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glowing or white with heat.
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intensely bright; brilliant.
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brilliant; masterly; extraordinarily lucid.
an incandescent masterpiece; incandescent wit.
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aglow with ardor, purpose, etc..
the incandescent vitality of youth.
adjective
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emitting light as a result of being heated to a high temperature; red-hot or white-hot
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informal extremely angry; raging
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of incandescent
1785–95; < Latin incandēscent- (stem of incandēscēns ), present participle of incandēscere to glow. See in- 2, candescent
Explanation
When heated, coals become incandescent, which means that they glow red-hot. You could also describe a brilliant and moving novel as incandescent. Incandescent, like the word candle, has its origins in the Latin word candere meaning "to glow or shine." Combined with the suffix in meaning "within," its meaning can be easily pulled from the combination of its root words: "to glow or shine from within." Fire crackers are incandescent because they give off brilliant lights when heated, but look up at a blazing fireworks display, and you'll find it's quite moving, or incandescent with intensity and brilliance.
Vocabulary lists containing incandescent
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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This Week in Words: September 10 - 16, 2017
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Incandescent light bulbs are the kind that people are most familiar with.
From NewsForKids.net • Aug. 17, 2023
Incandescent bulbs create illumination by running an electric current through a filament that heats it until it glows.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023
Incandescent bulbs, which are glass orbs with glowing wire centers, have been increasingly replaced by energy-efficient alternatives in recent years.
From Washington Times • Dec. 19, 2022
Incandescent red lipstick followed, as did a svelte faux fur coat — another gift.
From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2022
Commutator for Incandescent Lamps.—An apparatus for lighting automatically a new lamp to replace one that has failed.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 595, May 28, 1887 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
