fluorescent
Americanadjective
-
possessing the property of fluorescence; exhibiting fluorescence.
-
strikingly bright, vivid, or glowing.
plastic toys in fluorescent colors.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fluorescent
Explanation
A fluorescent bulb gets its light from mercury vapor inside a glass tube. The incandescent bulb — the kind associated with Thomas Edison — has a filament that glows when it's heated. You can also use fluorescent to describe something that's so vivid and bright it seems to give off light. Fluorescent is related to the word fluorspar, or fluorite, which is a mineral that glows. Notice the -u- in these words. Fluorescent comes from the Latin fluere "to flow" — fluorspar can be added to welding compounds, for instance, to make them flow more easily. Florescent, without a -u-, means "flowering," from Latin flor-, which is a completely different root.
Vocabulary lists containing fluorescent
Frindle
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The Lemonade War
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The Marvels
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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.
There are fluorescent lights, sweated-out windows, pizzas stacked like evidence, and the unshakable feeling that every other shopper is experiencing their first day on earth while glitching gently in front of the popsicles.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
A commenter branded it an example of “the Backrooms,” described as “nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
One user posted an image of an abandoned office space, with mustard yellow wallpaper and fluorescent lighting.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
They then used tissue-clearing methods to make the mice transparent while preserving the fluorescent signals, allowing scientists to see deep inside the body without cutting tissues apart.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
We opened the front door and switched on the fluorescent lights, which blinked on, bathing the rows of lathes and shapers and drill presses in a harsh blue-green glare.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
