incandescent

1 of 2

adjective

in·​can·​des·​cent ˌin-kən-ˈde-sᵊnt 

 also  -(ˌ)kan-

1

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

2

a

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

b

: producing light by incandescence

incandescently adverb

incandescent

2 of 2

noun

: light bulb sense a

Did you know?

Incandescent first lit up the English language toward the end of the 18th century, at a time when scientific experiments involving heat and light were being conducted on an increasingly frequent basis. An object that glowed at a high temperature (such as a piece of coal) was incandescent. By the mid-1800s, the incandescent lamp—aka the lightbulb—had been invented; it contains a filament which gives off light when heated by an electric current. Incandescent is the modern offspring of a much older parent, the Latin verb candēre, meaning "to glow." Centuries earlier, the word for another source of light, candle, was also derived from candēre.

Synonyms

Adjective

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

Examples of incandescent in a Sentence

Adjective

sitting in darkness, except for the incandescent coals of our campfire

a speaker incandescent with righteous anger over the treatment of the refugees

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The spiral arms are practically incandescent with orange and red gas in Webb’s imagery. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 1 Feb. 2024

The 20,000 fans packed into Madison Square Garden were incandescent with rah-rah, and few could take their eyes off the court. —Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

Adjective

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1900, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing incandescent

• incandescent lamp
• incandescent light bulb
• incandescent with rage

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Kids Definition

incandescent

1 of 2 adjective

in·​can·​des·​cent ˌin-kən-ˈdes-ᵊnt 

: white or glowing with great heat

incandescently adverb

incandescent

2 of 2 noun

: lightbulb sense a