noun
Meaning 1
the state of being opalescent
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
opalescence
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Australian: /ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
noun
Meaning 2
the milky iridescent appearance of a dense transparent medium when it is illuminated by polychromatic visible radiation (such as sunlight) due to local fluctuations in its density and therefore in its refractive index
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
the visual property of something having a milky brightness and a play of colors from the surface
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: iridescence
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: brightness
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English opal Proto-Indo-European *-éh1ti Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh1sḱeti Proto-Italic *-ēskō Latin -ēscō Latin -escensder. English -escence English opalescence From opal + -escence.
Across languages
Translations
2 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Czech: opalescence — state of being opalescent
- Czech: opalizace — state of being opalescent