Gloss · Words · Incandescent

incandescent

ˌɪnkənˈdɛsəntadjective

What does incandescent mean?

Glowing with heat; also, brilliant, or burning with anger.

Incandescent, six ways

PlainGlowing with heat; also, brilliant, or burning with anger.
ADHDWhite-hot. Glowing. Brilliant. Or furious.
Gen ZGlowing, from heat, from talent, or from rage.
MetaphorThe filament in a bulb, too bright to look at.
FormalEmitting light as a result of being heated; by extension, extremely bright or passionate.
Like I’m 5So hot it glows, like the wire in an old light bulb. That’s incandescent.

How to pronounce incandescent

in-kan-DES-unt/ˌɪnkənˈdɛsənt/

Incandescent in a sentence

She gave an incandescent performance.
She was incandescent with rage after the call.
Old incandescent bulbs waste most of their energy as heat.

Synonyms for incandescent

glowingPlainer.
brilliantShining, or exceptional.
furiousFor the anger sense, plainer.

Where incandescent comes from

Latin. Incandescere, to glow white, from candere, to shine.

Good to know

Literal for light from heat, as in bulbs; figurative for brilliance or fury. Incandescent with rage is mostly British.

Incandescent meaning, on a Gloss card: Glowing with heat; also, brilliant, or burning with anger.

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Words like incandescent

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In: Beautiful words · Words for the senses · Latin and Greek roots