incandescent
incandescent Lexical Profile
incandescent Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Emitting light as a result of being heated to a high temperature; glowing with intense heat.
"Traditional incandescent light bulbs have largely been replaced by more energy-efficient LED alternatives."
Exceedingly bright, brilliant, or dazzling in appearance or intellect.
"The soprano delivered an incandescent performance that left the entire audience spellbound."
Full of strong, passionate emotion; intensely angry or furious.
"The committee chair was incandescent with rage when she learned that the confidential report had been leaked."
Word Nuance & Usage
Unlike 'luminescent' or 'fluorescent' (which describe light produced without heat through chemical or electrical excitation), 'incandescent' specifically denotes light emitted as a direct result of high temperature.
• Rhymes for incandescent
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 18th century from French incandescent, from the Latin present participle incandēscēns ('glowing hot'), formed from in- ('within' or 'intensively') and candēscere ('to begin to glow white'), ultimately from candēre ('to shine').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.