pearlescent

American  

[per-les-uhnt] / pərˈlɛs ənt /

adjective

1. having an iridescent luster resembling that of pearl; nacreous.

   healthy skin with a pearlescent glow.

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Etymology

Origin of pearlescent

1945–50; pearl + -escent, on the model of iridescent, opalescent, etc.

Example Sentences

Growing up in the suburbs of Maryland, I looked forward to summers because it was the only time my family’s refrigerator would be stocked with bowls of pearlescent lychees.

From Salon • Sep. 6, 2025

And, as she descended a grand pearlescent staircase, she suddenly disappeared through a trap door.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2025

By contrast, Harden’s tiny “melancholia #21” is a dark, thickly painted image of a delicate bird set against atmospheric bands of mottled black, silvery gray and pearlescent purple.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2023

Rihanna became an earth goddess with pearlescent blue lips and eye shadow.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

Bod could not see her, but there was an extra shadow beneath the hawthorn tree, and, as he approached it, the shadow resolved itself into something pearlescent and translucent in the early-morning light.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman