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 of iridescent

• opalescent
• colorful
• nacreous
• pearlescent

Examples of iridescent in a Sentence

an iridescent soap bubble

Recent Examples on the Web

The expedition also revealed a new species of armoured and iridescent scale worms, called Eulagisca sp. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 30 Oct. 2025

Gomez's mani is soft, elegant, and very late '90s-coded with its iridescent shine. —Ana Serrano, Glamour, 30 Oct. 2025

The large flowers have an iridescent lavender eye and stand atop evergreen foliage that adds soft blue-green hues to the garden year-round. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025

In the late 19th century, traveling salesmen hawked concoctions of snake oil, uranium, or anything vaguely iridescent and passed it off as a youth tonic to unsuspecting customers. —Air Mail, 25 Oct. 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