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• moire
  moire

  noun

  any moiré fabric.
• moiré
  moiré

  adjective

  (of silks and other fabrics) presenting a watery or wavelike appearance.

moire

¹ American  

[mwahr, mawr, mohr] / mwɑr, mɔr, moʊr /

noun

1. any moiré fabric.

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moiré ² American  

[mwah-ray, mawr-ay, mohr-ay, mwa-ray] / mwɑˈreɪ, ˈmɔr eɪ, ˈmoʊr eɪ, mwaˈreɪ /

adjective

1. (of silks and other fabrics) presenting a watery or wavelike appearance.

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noun

1. a design pressed on silk, rayon, etc., by engraved rollers.

2. any silk, rayon, etc., fabric with a watery or wavelike appearance.

3. Printing. an interference pattern of dots appearing in the print of process color.

moiré ¹ British  

/ ˈmwɑːreɪ /

adjective

1. having a watered or wavelike pattern

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noun

1. such a pattern, impressed on fabrics by means of engraved rollers

2. any fabric having such a pattern; moire

3. Also: moiré pattern. a pattern seen when two geometrical patterns, such as grids, are visually superimposed

moire ² British  

/ mwɑː /

noun

1. a fabric, usually silk, having a watered effect

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Etymology

Origin of moire¹

1650–60; < French < English mohair

Origin of moiré²

From French, dating back to 1810–20; see origin at moire, -ee

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moire moiré

But the returns will arrive moire slowly than current spending suggests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

If I shift my head or the phone even a little, there’s a moire effect that instantly draws my eye — even after a week of use it’s still happening.

From The Verge ● Aug. 24, 2021

Last month, Harry Styles put out his video for Lights Up in which he wears a blue silk moire suit designed by long-time collaborator Harris Reed.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 16, 2019

“It all started with a Joseph Szabo image, where the girl was wearing a moire dress,” said Mr. Kane backstage, referring to the photographer and his teenager subjects.

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2012

“Upon my word, here’s a state of things!” cried the old lady, taking the seat of honor prepared for her, and settling the folds of her lavender moire with a great rustle.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

But the human stain is not without a comic essence, too, which Ruscha drew out in a wonderful group of word-paintings on shiny moiré fabric.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

Another of them, rendered almost invisibly in shellac on deep cobalt blue moiré, circles around to give the exhibition its trenchant title: “Now then, as I was about to say …”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

It was reimagined for the modern era, standing out with its sculptural construction and luxurious moiré fabric.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

And when those layers are twisted to form a moiré pattern, unprecedented tunability of electronic properties becomes possible.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023

Parade-day, all this glittering midstream is swept to the clean sheen of a strip of moiré, this splendid desolation blocked on each side by crowds half the density of the sidewalk.

From Americans All Stories of American Life of To-Day by Benjamin A. Heydrick

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