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Glite Dictionary
to fluoresce

to fluoresce

2 7.9
To give off bright light after it absorbs other light
  • verb
  • /flɔˈrɛs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fluorescer
  • The inner walls of the oven fluoresced as its ultraviolet lamps bathed the cup.

Does it just fluoresce or does it do interesting stuff?

Examples

  • When pee is first deposited by your cat, it will fluoresce in sort of an orange yellow.

  • When DNA in a test sample binds with specific DNA on a quantum dot probe, the sample fluoresces under UV radiation; this signal can then be analyzed.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Does it just fluoresce or does it do interesting stuff?

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • When they bind to DNA, they fluoresce an intense cyan blue.

  • It turns dark red or it fluoresces green.

  • Newer pigments fluoresce more than older pigments.

  • I didn't expect it to actually be this bright because it's darker colored, but it actually fluoresces quite well.

  • The emerald green of the fairway was so bright it seemed to fluoresce in the midday sun.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • When viewed with the Velscope device, bacteria that grow in more acidic conditions fluoresce with an orange glow.

    Blog text (25)

  • When placed under ultraviolet light, the mineral will fluoresce brightly, revealing its vivid colors.

Synonyms

to glow
vsto fluoresce
161 1.2

To shine with a steady soft light

is light emission caused by absorbing radiation rather than heat or chemistry
to light up
vsto fluoresce
64 2.5

Begin to shine or make something begin to shine, for example by burning

is emission due to absorbed radiation not merely external light or burning
to luminesce
vsto fluoresce
  • Specialized
1 8.2

To give off light without heat

is caused specifically by absorbing radiation often in the ultraviolet

How Bright

to dazzle
6 4.1
to fluoresce
  • Specialized
2 7.9
to shine
428 1.0
to glow
161 1.2
to gleam
70 1.9

Surface Forms

fluoresce infinitive
fluorescing present participle
fluoresces third person singular
fluoresced past
fluoresced past participle

Morphology

fluoresce = fluorescent (semi-transparent) = fluor + esce

The relation to the adjective 'fluorescent' (and 'fluorescence') is clear to learners who know those words, but the combining form 'fluor-' and the Latin-derived verb formative '-esce' are not productive or familiar to most learners.

Etymology

The word fluoresce comes from the root fluor-, used for the glowing mineral fluorite, and the ending -esce, which means 'become'. So to fluoresce is to 'become glowing' — to give off light after you absorb other light.