noctilucent

[ nok-tuh-loo-suhnt ]

/ ˌnɒk təˈlu sənt /

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adjective Meteorology.

(of high-altitude clouds) visible during the short night of the summer.

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Origin of noctilucent

First recorded in 1885–90; nocti- + lucent

OTHER WORDS FROM noctilucent

noc·ti·lu·cence, noun

Words nearby noctilucent

noct-, noctambulism, noctambulous, nocti-, noctiluca, noctilucent, noctis, noct. maneq., noctograph, noctuid, noctule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use noctilucent in a sentence

Strahan also said the excess water vapor could enhance the formation of special noctilucent clouds, which appear as shimmering, ghostlike wisps in the night sky.
Tonga volcano blasted unprecedented amount of water into atmosphere|Kasha Patel|August 5, 2022|Washington Post
At these altitudes, then, water vapor itself can readily cool the air enough to create noctilucent clouds.
To understand how ‘night-shining’ clouds form, scientists made one themselves|Maria Temming|March 5, 2021|Science News

British Dictionary definitions for noctilucent

noctilucent

/ (ˌnɒktɪˈluːsənt) /

adjective

shining at night, usu. of very thin high altitude clouds observable in the summer twilight sky

Derived forms of noctilucent

noctilucence, noun

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

Scientific definitions for noctilucent

noctilucent

[ nŏk′tə-lōō′sənt ]

Luminous at night. The term is used especially to describe certain high atmospheric cloud formations visible during summer nights at high latitudes.