Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phosphorescent

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.22 in modern English

Syllables
phos-pho-res-cent
IPA
26
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Having the property of emitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away, e.g., in electrostatic storage tubes and cathode-ray tubes.

noun

A phosphorescent substance.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From phosphorus + -escent. It's interesting to note that phosphorus is not phosphorescent. Some phosphoric mixtures can be luminescent through chemical reactions, but none exhibit literal phosphorescence.

Inflected Forms

more phosphorescent (comparative) most phosphorescent (superlative) phosphorescents (plural)

Derived Forms

electrophosphorescent phosphorescence phosphorescently photophosphorescent semiphosphorescent

Frequently Paired Words

phosphor phosphoresce phosphoroscope

Synonyms

briny

Rhymes With

crescent fluorescent incessant incandescent antidepressant iridescent pubescent convalescent depressant effervescent luminescent quiescent

Questions

What does phosphorescent mean?
Having the property of emitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away, e.g., in electrostatic storage tubes and cathode-ray tubes.
Where does phosphorescent come from?
From phosphorus + -escent. It's interesting to note that phosphorus is not phosphorescent. Some phosphoric mixtures can be luminescent through chemical reactions, but none exhibit literal phosphorescence.

How to pronounce phosphorescent

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