opalescent

American  

[oh-puh-les-uhnt] / ˌoʊ pəˈlɛs ənt /

adjective

1. exhibiting a play of colors like that of the opal.

2. having a milky iridescence.

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opalescent British  

/ ˌəʊpəˈlɛsənt /

adjective

1. having or emitting an iridescence like that of an opal

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opalescent Scientific  

/ ō′pə-lĕs′ənt /

1. Exhibiting a milky iridescence like that of opal.

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Other Word Forms

• opalescence
  noun
• opalescently
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of opalescent

First recorded in 1805–15; opal + -escent

Explanation

If you're familiar with the way that the gemstone opal shimmers like a pearl, then you'll understand that something opalescent reflects the light in the same way. Opal is a beautiful mineral with an almost magical, layered reflective quality that catches the eye the way a pearl does. Something opalescent has that same reflective quality. High-quality guitars, for example, often have opalescent inlays in the fingerboard that are not only beautiful but also useful. They can help the guitar player find her way around the instrument. Don't be fooled by imitations! Many fake jewels have an opalescent quality that mimics real pearl, but it's plastic, all the same.

Example Sentences

Opalescent, infinitely desirable, in the window of a stationer's shop around the corner, gleamed the paste-pot of my daydreams.

From More Trivia by Smith, Logan Pearsall

Opalescent berries resemble heaps of pearls, and the lemon stalks of marine sedge gleam like wedges of gold in the crystalline depths.

From Through the Malay Archipelago by Richings, Emily

Opalescent: with a bluish white lustre, as in opals.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

I was tempted to loiter on the banks of the Feld-spar and the bright Opalescent, but I passed by without even picking a pebble from the clear basins of its sparkling cascades.

From The Hudson Three Centuries of History, Romance and Invention by Bruce, Wallace