Link Centre Dictionary

opalesce

opa·lesce

UK/əʊpəˈlɛs/ US/oʊpəˈlɛs/ uncommon

verb

1.

reflect light or colors like an opal

  • “Distant clouds opalesce like pale brocade”
  • “raindrops caught in a sunbeam seem to opalesce”
2.

exhibit a play of colors like that of an opal

  • “This nitrate opalesces under certain conditions”

Origin

From opal + -esce.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.