lucent

American  

[loo-suhnt] / ˈlu sənt /

adjective

1. translucent; clear.

2. Literary. shining; luminous.

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lucent British  

/ ˈluːsənt /

adjective

1. brilliant, shining, or translucent

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Other Word Forms

• interlucent adjective
• lucency noun
• lucently adverb
• semilucent adjective
• unlucent adjective

Etymology

Origin of lucent

First recorded in 1490–1500; from Latin lūcent- (stem of lūcēns ), present participle of lūcēre “to shine”; see lucid, -ent

Explanation

Lucent things shine or glow with light. On a clear night, the full moon is lucent in the sky. The literary word lucent essentially means "luminous" or "radiant," glowing with a soft, bright light. You're most likely to encounter it in a poem or novel, describing the stars or white flowers in the dusk, or someone' s beautiful pale face, but it sometimes has a "clear or lucid" meaning as well. It comes from the Latin lucentem, from lucere, "to shine."

Example Sentences

When Benigni cracked that the pope was "lucent ... emanating light", the pope responded, "Don't exaggerate!"

From Reuters • Dec. 7, 2022

Wiener sloshed knee-high through the shore’s lucent water, and gently picked up the prickly fish with both hands.

From Seattle Times • May 4, 2022

Of course, there is history, and it’s nasty — as we learn from lucent black-and-white flashbacks and Asher’s oddly poetic internal monologue.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2017

But none of them brought the house to its feet in the midst of every performance like the vocally mighty and emotionally lucent Cynthia Erivo did, with The Color Purple ballad, I’m Here.

From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2016

All of these things Kino saw in the lucent pearl and he said, “We will have new clothes.”

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck