lambent

[ lam-buhnt ]
See synonyms for lambent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. softly bright or radiant: a lambent light.

  2. running or moving lightly over a surface: lambent tongues of flame.

  1. dealing lightly and gracefully with a subject; brilliantly playful: lambent wit.

Origin of lambent

1
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin lambent- (stem of lambēns ) “lapping,” present participle of lambere “to lick, wash” (said of water or fire); akin to lap3; see -ent

Other words from lambent

  • lam·bent·ly, adverb

Words Nearby lambent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lambent in a sentence

  • There appears to be a lambent light at the end of the tunnel, yet cavalier attitudes towards the pandemic, particularly among younger people who, as a group, are under-vaccinated, resembles what we saw last summer just before the second wave.

  • A lambent spotlight shines on each individual in his portraits, reminding the world of their forgotten existence.

    Ghosts of the Sahara | Lizzie Crocker | April 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Another has joined the band—a little shadowy form, with lambent eyes, and the smile of a seraph.

    Ruth Hall | Fanny Fern
  • Each stalk had turned into a tall, straight flame of lambent rose.

    The Second Latchkey | Charles Norris Williamson and Alice Muriel Williamson
  • Suddenly, Mrs. Vansittart's eyes gleamed again with that lambent light so oddly at variance with her smile.

    The Pillar of Light | Louis Tracy
  • There was no suggestion of a body, only that majestic head crowned with hyacinthine locks and limned in lambent fire.

    The Doomsman | Van Tassel Sutphen
  • Crazed by the infernal round, unable to resist the fascination of the lambent flames, one of them sprang and fell into the fire.

    Snnica | Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for lambent

lambent

/ (ˈlæmbənt) /


adjective
  1. (esp of a flame) flickering softly over a surface

  2. glowing with soft radiance

  1. (of wit or humour) light or brilliant

Origin of lambent

1
C17: from the present participle of Latin lambere to lick

Derived forms of lambent

  • lambency, noun
  • lambently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012