chatoyant
Americanadjective
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changing in luster or color.
chatoyant silk.
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Jewelry. reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon.
noun
adjective
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having changeable lustre; twinkling
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(of a gem, esp a cabochon) displaying a band of light reflected off inclusions of other minerals
noun
Other Word Forms
- chatoyance noun
- chatoyancy noun
Etymology
Origin of chatoyant
First recorded in 1790–1800; from French, present participle of chatoyer “to change luster like a cat's eye,” derivative of chat “cat”; cat ( def. )
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.
The faint eery light that glowed in the stranger’s deep-set eyes was not the lambent flame seen in the chatoyant orbs of some night-prowling jungle beast.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1931 by Various
The chatoyant eyes of the leopard stared back, a flicker of restlessness in their brilliant yellow deeps.
From The Adventures of Kathlyn by MacGrath, Harold
But one of the prettiest though commonest gems in the island is the "Moon-stone," a variety of pearly adularia presenting chatoyant rays when simply polished.
From Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1 by Tennent, James Emerson, Sir
Cymophane, or chatoyant chrysoberyl, may also be asteriated.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various
She invariably wore gloves out of doors and a veil to conceal the chatoyant eyes.
From The Green Eyes of Bâst by Rohmer, Sax
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.
