iridescent

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adjective ir·i·des·cent \ ˌir-ə-ˈde-sᵊnt \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of iridescent

:having or exhibiting iridescence

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iridescently

adverb

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Recent Examples of iridescent from the Web

Vanessa Hudgens walked the blue carpet wearing her heart on her belt, pairing the sparkly, oversized accessory with a diaphanous, iridescent pink top featuring a high neck and ruffled sleeves and metallic jacquard kick flare pants.

— emily kirkpatrick, PEOPLE.com, "The Teen Choice Awards Style and Beauty Moments You Can't Miss," 14 Aug. 2017
The athletic contour of the Concept 8 wears an exterior coat of Barcelona Gray Liquid, a grayish blue paint with iridescent pigments.

— terry troy, cleveland.com, "BMW Concept 8 Series points to brand's design future," 23 July 2017
The studio's two side walls are covered in iridescent tiles and reflect light streaming in from its large, horizontal window and cupola in the vaulted, pecky cypress ceiling.

— madeleine winer, The Courier-Journal, "Coastal meets Southern rustic in this elegant Goshen estate," 20 July 2017
To enhance her natural beauty, the former model’s complexion is glowing with a light, iridescent highlighter on her cheeks and a clear, glittery gloss on her lips.

— nicole saunders, Billboard, "Dua Lipa Looks Super Stylish in 'New Rules' Music Video: Watch," 7 July 2017
Yesterday, Hamptons boutique Blue & Cream shared an Instagram video of Tiffany showing off some of her custom wares, which include an iridescent boxing glove and a purple diamond lightning bolt on a chain.

— anna silman, The Cut, "Tiffany Trump Makes Jewelry and It’s As Elegant and Understated As You’d Expect," 6 July 2017
The short video highlighted a silver necklace that had an iridescent boxing glove charm on it.

— alyssa hardy, Teen Vogue, "Tiffany Trump Debuts a Jewelry Line on Instagram," 6 July 2017
Add an iridescent shimmer pigment on top of your eyelids.

— brooke shunatona, Cosmopolitan, "11 Halloween Looks You Can Create With Makeup You Already Have," 30 June 2017
One of my favorites is a rainbow iridescent one from my new collection.

— andrea cheng, Billboard, "Ariana Grande's Famous Crown Actually Made the Designer Cry -- And Not from Joy," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'iridescent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, took messages from Mount Olympus to earth, and from gods to mortals or other gods, using the rainbow as her stairway. Iridescence is thus the glowing, shifting, colorful quality of a rainbow, also seen in an opal, a light oil slick, a butterfly wing, or the mother-of-pearl that lines an oyster shell.