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irised

irised

9.4
A surface with changing bright colors like a rainbow when light hits it
  • adjective
  • /ˈaɪrɪst/
translation icon : iridiscente
  • The irised fabric caught the sunlight beautifully.

Examples

  • The artist painted an irised sky to capture the magical effect of the morning light.

  • She admired the irised surface of the beetle's shell as it glimmered in the garden.

  • The soap bubble appeared irised in the sunlight, reflecting many shifting colors.

  • Her dress had an irised pattern that changed colors.

  • The artist used irised paints to create a vibrant sunset that seemed to shimmer on the canvas.

  • Her irised dress caught the sunlight, displaying a beautiful spectrum of colors.

  • The butterfly's wings were irised, reflecting hues of blue, green, and gold as it flew by.

Synonyms

iridescent
vsirised
12 7.6

Bright colors that seem to change when seen from different angles

has the same shifting rainbow colors without a milky or soft lustre
prismatic
vsirised
2 6.7

Having the shape of a prism or showing bright rainbow colours

describes shimmering rainbow colors not tied to light-splitting shape
opalescent
vsirised
1 8.2

Soft, shiny colors on a surface that look like a small rainbow

keeps pure shimmer rather than the milky, cloudy tone
pearlescent
vsirised
1 7.9

A shiny surface like a pearl that shows rainbow colors when you move it

focuses on rainbow shimmer generally rather than adding soft lustre
opaline
vsirised
8.8

Having a milky rainbow shine that changes with light

expresses color shifts without implying a milky or cloudy appearance

How Iridescent

iridescent
12 7.6
irised
9.4
pearly
22 3.2
sheeny
1 6.7
matte
2 3.5

Surface Forms

irised positive

Morphology

irised = iris (semi-transparent) = iris + ed

Formed by the regular adjectival suffix '-ed' on 'iris', but the specific sense 'rainbow-like colours' relies on a less familiar sense of 'iris' (cf. iridescence).

Etymology

Irised comes from the word iris, which means 'rainbow'. Think of a soap bubble or a beetle shell that seems to shimmer and change with many colors, just like iridescent, so something 'irised' shows shifting, rainbow-like colors.