Incandescent Meaning
/ˌɪn.kænˈdɛs.ənt/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjEmitting light as a result of being heated.
adjShining very brightly.
Sentence Examples
She was incandescent with joy upon hearing his proposal.
We replaced all incandescent lightbulbs with new energy-saving lightbulbs.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The metal filament inside the old light bulb glows with ____ light when electricity passes through.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old ____ light bulbs have mostly been replaced by more energy-efficient LED versions.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French incandescent, from Latin incandescens, from incandesco (“be heated, glow”), from in- (intensifying prefix) + candesco (“become white”), from candidus (“white”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We will all go together when we go / All suffused with an incandescent glow"
— 1959, Tom Lehrer, “We Will All Go Together When We Go”:
"Rather than burning out as incandescent bulbs do, L.E.D.’s light output dims over tens of thousands of hours. L.E.D.’s are also more resistant to vibration than incandescents or screw-in fluorescent bulbs, and do not flicker or hum."
— 2007 March 1, Matthew L. Wald, “Room to Improve”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2017:
"Those multitoned buttes and mesas [of the Grand Canyon], and that incandescent sequence of colorful bands that make one of the natural wonders of the world so grand, can also be found over 100 million miles away [on Mars]."
— 2013 November 27, John Grotzinger, “The world of Mars [print version: International Herald Tribune Magazine, 2013, p. 36]”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2017:
"Compact fluorescents are typically rated at 7,500 to 10,000 hours, and incandescents at about 1,500 hours."
— 2007 March 1, Matthew L. Wald, “Room to Improve”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2017:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The metal filament inside the old light bulb glows with ____ light when electricity passes through.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old ____ light bulbs have mostly been replaced by more energy-efficient LED versions.