Synonyms of opalescent

opalescent

adjective

ˌō-pə-ˈle-sᵊnt 

as in iridescent

having a rainbowlike play of colors

once given away as a cheap prize at carnivals, this opalescent glass is now highly prized by collectors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• iridescent
• nacreous
• colorful
• pearlescent
• multicolored
• polychromatic
• varicolored
• variegated
• chatoyant
• polychrome
• motley

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of opalescent

Look to opalescent chrome powders, which can shift from pink to blue to green and give a milky white manicure underneath some unexpected pizzazz. — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 23 May 2026

Orlando sees their house from a distance below them, small as an opalescent shell. — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026

As the world outside begins to resemble the full-moon mating frenzy of the opalescent squid, crack open Sylvia Townsend Warner’s 1948 novel about nuns eking out an existence in a 14th-century convent and one night of celibacy might not seem so bad. — Air Mail, 14 Feb. 2026

To determine the impact of these conservation goals, scientists need a way to understand the true size of the opalescent squid population. — Jules Jacobs, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2025