Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

opalescence

/ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.53 in modern English

Syllables
opales-cence
IPA
/ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

the state of being opalescent

Countable; Uncountable

noun

the milky iridescent appearance of a dense transparent medium when it is illuminated by polychromatic visible radiation (such as sunlight) due to local fluctuations in its density and therefore in its refractive index

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Etymology tree English opal Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁sḱeti Proto-Italic *-ēskō Latin -ēscō Latin -escensder. English -escence English opalescence From opal + -escence.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/

Usage

Inflected Forms

opalescences (plural)

Phrases

critical opalescence

Synonyms

iridescence

Questions

How do you pronounce opalescence?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/.
What does opalescence mean?
the state of being opalescent
Where does opalescence come from?
Etymology tree English opal Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁sḱeti Proto-Italic *-ēskō Latin -ēscō Latin -escensder. English -escence English opalescence From opal + -escence.

How to pronounce opalescence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “opalescence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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