prismatic
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or like a prism.
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formed by or as if by a transparent prism.
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spectral in color; brilliant.
prismatic colors.
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highly varied or faceted.
a prismatic existence.
adjective
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concerned with, containing, or produced by a prism
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exhibiting bright spectral colours
prismatic light
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crystallog another word for orthorhombic
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Relating to or resembling a prism.
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Formed by refraction of light through a prism, used especially of a spectrum of light.
Other Word Forms
- interprismatic adjective
- prismatically adverb
- unprismatic adjective
- unprismatical adjective
- unprismatically adverb
Etymology
Origin of prismatic
Explanation
Something that's prismatic reflects or resembles the multiple colors of the rainbow. The prismatic hues on the surface of the water brightened the gloomy day. You can use this adjective to describe something that looks like a geometrical prism, a three-dimensional shape with two parallel bases and sides which are all parallelograms. The tent you use when you go camping is prismatic in shape, for example. Prismatic also means "reflecting light the way a prism does," so you can describe the prismatic light that shines through ancient stained glass windows in a church.
Vocabulary lists containing prismatic
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.
Ford’s Kentucky factory will be changing both chemistry and shape: It will go from producing NMC pouch cells to LFP prismatic ones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
This was, in part, what drew him to making a prismatic study of Callas.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024
The glass panels gleam in the sun, like an outsize version of the prismatic bluish-purple gem that glitters in the light.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2024
Like hip-hop, breaking is represented by a prismatic range of cultures, each of which has evolved the form and lends its own flavors.
From Salon • Aug. 13, 2024
Only then did Reynie see that the prismatic lens had been concealing a different lens beneath.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
