coruscate

American  

[kawr-uh-skeyt, kor-] / ˈkɔr əˌskeɪt, ˈkɒr- /

verb (used without object)

coruscated, coruscating

1. to emit vivid flashes of light; sparkle; scintillate; gleam.

   Here was a sapphire, perfectly spherical and over four inches in diameter, that coruscated with a dazzling blue fire.

2. to show spectacular technique or mastery.

   His writing coruscates with brilliant poetic flourishes.

   The lead player’s coruscating guitar work is a signature feature of many tracks on the album.

---

coruscate British  

/ ˈkɒrəˌskeɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to emit flashes of light; sparkle

---

Other Word Forms

• coruscating
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of coruscate

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin coruscātus, past participle of coruscāre “to quiver, flash”; see coruscant

Explanation

Coruscate is a verb that means to sparkle or give off reflected flashes of light. Think of the way the little mirrors on a disco ball coruscate as the ball twirls, making the dance floor sparkle. Although coruscate means to glitter with light, you can also use the word, in a less literal way, to refer to someone with such great style or ability that they seem to sparkle. Your best friend's performance in the school play might coruscate with such brilliance that the audience gives her a standing ovation during her curtain call.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coruscate coruscated coruscating

Metallic shards of blue, red, and white light coruscate across the reflective steel and glass backdrop.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2017

He has deployed witticisms and aphorisms that coruscate with good-natured sophistication.

From Slate ● Mar. 21, 2017

The shadow chancellor stood at the House of Commons despatch box at 13.20 GMT to coruscate Philip Hammond over his Autumn Statement.

From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2016

He admires the centuries-old abbey: O'er this north door a trace still lingers Of how a Gothic craftsman's fingers Could make stones creep like ivy stems And tilings coruscate like gems.

From Time Magazine Archive

Let us stick to the symbol closely, and we shall then best understand the many-sided blessings that flash and coruscate in the gift of the Spirit.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke by Maclaren, Alexander

When Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Berlin Philharmonic coruscated through the Ninth Symphony during World War II, the Germans thought Beethoven was writing for them.

From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2022

The onion domes and crosses atop the Kremlin's cathedrals and churches coruscated in the winter sunlight, while the renovated brick battlements of the ancient fortress loomed over the elegant imperial palaces, freshly painted in pastels.

From Time Magazine Archive

Its lustrous white satin billowed from the waist into a crinoline that coruscated with flowers of pearls and leaves of gold.

From Time Magazine Archive

Signora Gianni Agnelli's stones coruscated white, pink and green.

From Time Magazine Archive

A mild cheer coruscated through the crowds worldwide.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

It is certainly possible that Scottish government communications are far less colourful and coruscating than some of those that have emerged from the UK government.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2023

Snow geese and coruscating tulips draw me to the sloughs and wetlands where the serpentine Skagit River flows into the Salish Sea.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

His piano style reflected the coruscating romanticism of Art Tatum, the inventive precision of Powell and the spiky individuality of Monk — who later became Mr. Harris’s longtime housemate.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2021

In Doris Lessing’s new novel — her 12th book, fifth to be published here, and a coruscating literary event — she bites off only one thing that she doesn’t properly chew.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021

St. John said these words as he pronounced his sermons, with a quiet, deep voice; with an unflushed cheek, and a coruscating radiance of glance.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë