iridescent

adjective

ir·​i·​des·​cent ˌir-ə-ˈde-sᵊnt 

: having or exhibiting iridescence

iridescently adverb

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.

Synonyms

• opalescent
• colorful
• nacreous
• pearlescent

Examples of iridescent in a Sentence

an iridescent soap bubble

Recent Examples on the Web

Its scales look almost iridescent, and a neon yellow stripe runs down its side. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2025

As previously reported, the bright iridescent colors in things like peacock feathers and butterfly wings don't come from any pigment molecules but from how they are structured. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 30 July 2025

Her look could best be described as Western bohemian glam, with an iridescent, fringy jacket over a pale pink, corsetted dress and topped off with a large cross necklace. —Marci Robin, Allure, 23 July 2025

The males have a bright orange back and belly, a white patch below the throat and iridescent red throats. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Greek īrid-, îris "rainbow, iridescent halo around the moon, a flame, etc." + -escent — more at iris entry 1

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for iridescent

• acquiescent
• adolescent
• arborescent
• coalescent
• convalescent
• deliquescent
• effervescent
• evanescent
• incandescent
• luminescent
• obsolescent
• opalescent

Kids Definition

iridescent

adjective

ir·​i·​des·​cent ˌir-ə-ˈdes-ᵊnt 

: having or showing iridescence

iridescently adverb

Medical Definition

iridescent

adjective

ir·​i·​des·​cent ˌir-ə-ˈdes-ᵊnt 

: having or exhibiting a display of colors producing rainbow effects

iridescence

-ᵊn(t)s 

noun