opalescent
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of opalescent
Explanation
If you're familiar with the way that the gemstone opal shimmers like a pearl, then you'll understand that something opalescent reflects the light in the same way. Opal is a beautiful mineral with an almost magical, layered reflective quality that catches the eye the way a pearl does. Something opalescent has that same reflective quality. High-quality guitars, for example, often have opalescent inlays in the fingerboard that are not only beautiful but also useful. They can help the guitar player find her way around the instrument. Don't be fooled by imitations! Many fake jewels have an opalescent quality that mimics real pearl, but it's plastic, all the same.
Vocabulary lists containing opalescent
100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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The Boy Who Dared
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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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.
The crab is small, being around 15 millimeters in length, and is opalescent white-yellow in color.
From Science Daily • Oct. 8, 2025
The powdered slurry becomes a strong, opalescent material called sintered glass.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 10, 2023
Beside us, in the lamplight, is a seated figure, inflamed and opalescent, like a flaring ember.
From Washington Post • Aug. 19, 2020
Same goes for a gold and fuchsia-tinted stretch pleather mermaid gown with opalescent paillettes.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2019
The horns of the largest were as long as a walking stick, and opalescent.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
