prismatic

[ priz-mat-ik ]

/ prɪzˈmæt ɪk /

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adjective

of, relating to, or like a prism.

formed by or as if by a transparent prism.

spectral in color; brilliant: prismatic colors.

highly varied or faceted: a prismatic existence.

RELATED WORDS

pearly, shimmering, lustrous, motley, psychedelic, kaleidoscopic, disparate, mottled, checkered, gaudy, vivid, splashy, vibrant, multicolored, bright, flashy, rich, hued, conglomerate, rainbow

Nearby words

prism, prism bar, prism binocular, prism diopter, prism spectrometer, prismatic, prismatic compass, prismatic layer, prismatic telescope, prismatoid, prismoid

Sometimes pris·mat·i·cal.

Origin of prismatic

1700–10; < Greek prīsmat- (stem of prîsma) prism + -ic

Related forms

pris·mat·i·cal·ly, adverbin·ter·pris·mat·ic, adjectiveun·pris·mat·ic, adjectiveun·pris·mat·i·cal, adjective

un·pris·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for prismatic

Each telling brings new details or perspective, making the book both repetitive and prismatic.
Elias Khoury: Profile of the Essential Arab Novelist Today|Jacob Silverman|August 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She talks in a prismatic way that I find perfect for the telephone—a back and forth of recognitions, observations, and phrases.
Terry Tempest Williams Talks About Her New Book, ‘When Women Were Birds’|Susan Salter Reynolds|May 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Cephalis ovate, with a large, prismatic horn, half as long as the shell.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index|Ernst Haeckel
Agalma breve, like a prismatic mass of crystal, with pink float and polypites.
Colouration in Animals and Plants|Alfred Tylor

Cephalis hemispherical, with a vertical, straight, prismatic horn of three times the length.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index|Ernst Haeckel
"But on the surface of the earth we have all possible combinations of the seven prismatic rays," I answered.
Etidorhpa or the End of Earth.|John Uri Lloyd
Shackelton, in Novaya Zemlya, with a prismatic camera obtained a photograph of the reversing-layer at the beginning of totality.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 10|Various

British Dictionary definitions for prismatic

prismatic

/ (prɪzˈmætɪk) /

adjective

concerned with, containing, or produced by a prism

exhibiting bright spectral coloursprismatic light

crystallog another word for orthorhombic

Derived Forms

prismatically, adverb

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

Science definitions for prismatic

prismatic

[ prĭz-măt′ĭk ]

Relating to or resembling a prism.

Formed by refraction of light through a prism, used especially of a spectrum of light.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.