iridescent
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- iridescence noun
- iridescently adverb
- noniridescent adjective
- noniridescently adverb
- uniridescent adjective
- uniridescently adverb
Etymology
Origin of iridescent
Explanation
Iridescent is an adjective that means lustrous and pearly, giving off a brilliant sheen like an oil slick or, well, a pearl. Iridescent came to be in 1796, when some enthusiastic word maker took the Latin word iris, which means "rainbow," and morphed it into an English word that describes anything giving off a luminous, rainbow sheen or that changes color in the light. It's a great descriptive word — if you can resist the urge to spell it with an extra "r."
Vocabulary lists containing iridescent
The Old Man and the Sea
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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The Secret Life of Bees
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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.
Where her vision clears, she’s in a hall lit by candlelight and crystal chandeliers draped in pearls, dressed in an iridescent gown and jewels evocative of the decade’s New Romantic style.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026
The collection's theme was "cangiante", an Italian word synonymous with iridescent and describing "something that remains entirely itself, yet changes depending on your perspective", the brand said in a statement.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
It was “an iridescent bubble floating above the city’s cares,” writes Lyse Doucet in “The Finest Hotel in Kabul.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
She walked over to her dresser, the top of which held a few small glass sculptures of dolphins with iridescent eyes that she had been collecting off and on for more than a decade.
From Slate • Nov. 15, 2025
Their tails are iridescent green, and their breasts are small and bare.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
