adjective
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resembling a pearl, esp in lustre
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of the colour pearl; pale bluish-grey
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decorated with pearls or mother-of-pearl
noun
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a London costermonger who wears on ceremonial occasions a traditional dress of dark clothes covered with pearl buttons
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(plural) the clothes or the buttons themselves
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pearly
First recorded in 1400–50, pearly is from the late Middle English word peerly. See pearl, -y 1
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.
See Examples For:
He has the conventions of attractiveness, from his height to his pearly whites to the almost strategic amount of smile lines he has, but add them up and you somehow don’t leave with much.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
His zest for life was palpable, accented by his pearly smile across the dimly lit windowless lounge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Some people watching last week's eclipse did see this familiar pearly color.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Do I fit the criteria in terms of Christianity and in regard to St. Peter and pearly gates?”
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2025
She had the glummest face Harry had ever seen, half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly spectacles.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
And what is most remembered about a performance to Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings” is “the transcendent scene of 17 women onstage, swathed in the palest and pearliest of blues.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2024
The world's shiniest, smoothest, pearliest eggs to impress your friends with.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2022
Finding the pearliest treasures at shorelines called for avoiding crocodiles, spiny urchins and “burning sea slime,” Claudia Swan, one of the essayists, points out.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021
Another man, who didn’t make a movie until he was 50, had the pearliest record of all.
From Time ● Jan. 9, 2014
Her voice was the pearliest, most musical, and yet most distant of things.
From Helbeck of Bannisdale — Volume I by Mrs. Humphry Ward
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