Word of the Day

: September 1, 2011

coruscate

verb KOR-uh-skayt

What It Means

1 : to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes : sparkle

2 : to be brilliant or showy in technique or style

coruscate in Context

The astronomy students observed the coruscating stars through a high-powered telescope.

"Down below the Sea of Galilee gleamed, coruscated, in the setting biblical sun." -- From Justin Cartwright's 2011 book Other People's Money

Did You Know?

To help you gain a flash of recognition next time you see "coruscate" (or to prompt you when you need a brilliant synonym for "sparkle"), remember this bit of bright imagery by George Bernard Shaw, describing a centuries-old abbey: "O'er this north door a trace still lingers / Of how a Gothic craftsman's fingers / Could make stones creep like ivy stems / And tilings coruscate like gems." Or you could just remember that "coruscate" developed from Latin "coruscare," which means "to flash." That word also gave us the noun "coruscation" ("glitter" or "sparkle") and the adjective "coruscant" ("shining" or "glittering").