Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pearly

/pˈɝli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English

Syllables: pearly
IPA: /pˈɝli/

11

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.

Dated; Uncountable

noun

British usage; Countable; Slang

adj

Of a pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.

adj

Resembling or characteristic of a pearl; nacreous.

adj

Containing or yielding pearls.

adj

Having a pure sweet tone.

Example Sentences

"In nature we as often find the light cool as warm; also in the pictures of many of the Flemish and Dutch schools, where, as Sir Joshua himself mentions, " the silver gray or pearly is predominant, and are valued by the connoisseurs in proportion as they possess this excellence of a silver tint.""
"Pearly is that silky and often coloured lustre which renders of such value"
"When (the scales are) more developed and thickened, the color (pearly) is deepened, shading"
"a pearly lustre"

Etymology

From pearl + -y.

Usage

Inflected Forms

pearlies (plural) pearlier (comparative) pearliest (superlative)

Derived Forms

pearliness

Phrases

arc-form pearly mussel pearly antshrike pearly coronal papules pearly disease pearly everlasting pearly-eyed thrasher pearly family Pearly Gates

Frequently Paired Words

chambered nautilus

Synonyms

pearlesque pearlish pearllike pearly-white chopper

Homonyms

perley

Rhymes With

early shirley curly hurley burley surly girlie burly gurley curley worley turley

Questions

How do you pronounce pearly?: The recorded pronunciation is /pˈɝli/.
What does pearly mean?: A pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.
Where does pearly come from?: From pearl + -y.

How to pronounce pearly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pearly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pˈɝli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pearly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pearly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.