luminescent
Americanadjective
-
emitting light that is not caused by incandescence and that occurs at a temperature below that of incandescent bodies.
The luminescent watch hands glow 100 times brighter than those on standard watches, allowing wearers to read the time in complete darkness.
-
glowing or shining, or producing an impression of light; lustrous; radiant.
Her gloriously luminescent voice, described by the New York Times as "hauntingly clear," evokes other-worldly sounds wafting from a mountaintop convent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of luminescent
First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin lūmin-, stem of lūmen “light” + -escent ( def. )
Explanation
Luminescent things glow with light. The illuminated screens of your laptop and TV are both luminescent. Things that glow in the dark, like the reflective safety strip on your dog's leash or the numbers on your alarm clock, are luminescent. Other luminescent things include light bulbs, the stars in the night sky, glow worms, and certain glowing jellyfish and other sea creatures. When a living thing is luminescent, it's a phenomenon called bioluminescence. The Latin root of both words is lumen, meaning "light."
Vocabulary lists containing luminescent
Fahrenheit 451
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Let There Be Light: Lum and Luc
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All Aglow: Light Lingo
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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.
Steven C. Kemp’s sets contrasted the forbiddingly gray and angular environment of Atlas with the riotously colored, luminescent trees and rocks of the world outside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Her work in “Marty Supreme” is simply luminescent, one of the year’s most charming and memorable supporting performances.
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025
The bulb suggests enlightenment, while those old clay vessels, sometimes used as grave markers or funerary offerings, lend a spiritual dimension to Eliasson’s luminescent sight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
At the same time, they made the ARF7 protein luminescent, which is the protein that controls the auxin responses and which the plant cell's garbage collectors clean up to provide optimal root growth.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
It hailed for a minute, then the sky was empty and luminescent; clumps of sagebrush along the roadside glowed like torches.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
