¹incandescent

adjective in·can·des·cent \-s^ənt\

: white or glowing because of great heat

: producing bright light when heated

: very impressive, successful, or intelligent

Full Definition of INCANDESCENT

a : white, glowing, or luminous with intense heat

b : strikingly bright, radiant, or clear

c : marked by brilliance especially of expression <incandescent wit>

d : characterized by glowing zeal : ardent <incandescent affection>

a : of, relating to, or being light produced by incandescence

b : producing light by incandescence

— in·can·des·cent·ly adverb

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Origin of INCANDESCENT

probably from French, from Latin incandescent-, incandescens, present participle of incandescere to become hot, from in- + candescere to become hot, from candēre to glow — more at candid

First Known Use: 1794

Related to INCANDESCENT

Synonyms: beaming, bedazzling, brilliant, candescent, clear, dazzling, effulgent, fulgent, glowing, bright, lambent, lucent, lucid, luminous, lustrous, radiant, refulgent, sheeny, shining, shiny, splendid

Antonyms: dim, dull, lackluster, unbright, unbrilliant

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

²incandescent

noun

Definition of INCANDESCENT

: lightbulb a

First Known Use of INCANDESCENT

1900

Other Electrical Engineering Terms

feedback, fuse, noise, resonance

Rhymes with INCANDESCENT

acquiescent, adolescent, arborescent, Fertile Crescent, opalescent, prepubescent, viridescent

INCANDESCENT[2] Defined for Kids

incandescent

adjective in·can·des·cent \ˌin-kən-ˈde-s^ənt\

Definition of INCANDESCENT for Kids

: white or glowing with great heat

Learn More About INCANDESCENT

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "incandescent"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "incandescent"

Nglish: Translation of "incandescent" for Spanish speakers

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