Synonyms of incandescent

incandescent

adjective

ˌin-kən-ˈde-sᵊnt 

1

as in luminous

giving off or reflecting much light

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• luminous
• glowing
• shining
• dazzling
• radiant
• bright
• flickering
• shiny
• shimmering
• gleaming
• flashing
• brilliant
• lambent
• blazing
• sparkling
• candescent
• effulgent
• refulgent
• glittering
• burning
• lustrous
• lucent
• glistening
• splendid
• flaming
• lucid
• blinding
• beaming
• fulgent
• fiery
• clear
• bedazzling
• polished
• shined
• sheeny
• ardent
• twinkling
• winking
• scintillating
• glancing
• flaring
• glaring
• red-hot
• sunny
• scintillant
• shimmery
• combusting
• gemmy
• burnished
• glimmering
• aglitter
• glinting
• ablaze
• glistering
• agleam
• coruscant
• ultrabright
• superbright

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dim
• dull
• dark
• dusky
• blackened
• lackluster
• unlit
• darkened
• obscure
• pitch-black
• gloomy
• dimmed
• lightless
• somber
• pitch-dark
• darkling
• darkish
• murky
• obscured
• darksome
• shadowy
• gray
• pale
• cloudy
• unbright
• leaden
• tenebrous
• unbrilliant
• shady
• sunless
• shadowlike
• palish

2

as in passionate

having or expressing great depth of feeling

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• passionate
• warm
• passional
• fervent
• intense
• glowing
• emotional
• ardent
• fiery
• charged
• religious
• flaming
• burning
• impassioned
• demonstrative
• blazing
• enthusiastic
• superheated
• fervid
• feverish
• torrid
• vehement
• perfervid
• red-hot
• hot-blooded
• warm-blooded
• on fire
• sentimental
• saccharine
• mawkish
• histrionic
• sugary
• melodramatic
• gushy
• mushy
• sloppy
• zealous
• sappy
• uninhibited
• maudlin
• schmaltzy
• infatuated
• obsessed
• gung ho
• gushing
• orgiastic
• enamored
• unrestrained
• unreserved
• frenzied
• keen
• overheated
• overexcited
• overemotional

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cold
• dispassionate
• cool
• impassive
• dry
• impersonal
• detached
• objective
• emotionless
• unemotional
• reserved
• undemonstrative

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of incandescent

The process is arduous, spanning days or weeks of boiling and soaking in syrup, but when sugar properly penetrates fruit’s cellular structure, not only does the appearance become almost incandescent, but the microbes that cause spoilage can’t survive. — Hannah Walhout, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Feb. 2026

Philip Jones Griffiths, veteran of the Vietnam War, was incandescent. — Robin Muir, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2026

The game-winner was Miller’s first made 3-pointer of the night after missing his first five attempts — a cold shooter who chose the most incandescent moment possible to find his range. — Denny Alfonso, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026

Suddenly, pain radiates through its flank, an incandescent light flashes through its nerves, and a warm liquid fills its mouth. — Literary Hub, 4 Dec. 2025

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!