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Glite Dictionary
noctilucent

noctilucent

1 9.9
Shining at night by giving off light, like some clouds or animals
  • adjective
  • /nɒkˈtɪluːsənt/
  • Specialized
: noctilucente
  • Many people travel north to witness the rare beauty of noctilucent clouds glowing against the night sky.
  • noctilucent clouds

Examples

  • Scientists are fascinated by noctilucent clouds, as they are formed from ice crystals at very high altitudes.

  • OK, it's called a noctilucent cloud.

  • Wenty had seen noctilucent trees before.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • B around mimatus cloud, CA wispy noctilucent cloud or DAUFO shaped lenticular cloud.

  • It came from a searchlight somewhere beyond the cliffs, and projected onto a high bank of noctilucent cirrus was a winged black shape.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • But the film's director, Philip Kaufman, was not without choices: other kinds of clouds, such as cirrocumulus and the especially beautiful noctilucent clouds, do exist at very high altitudes, as any intro meteorology course will teach you.

    Academic text (2002)

  • During the summer months, the sky can be adorned with stunning noctilucent clouds that shimmer after sunset.

How Bright

dazzling
3 3.1
noctilucent
  • Specialized
1 9.9
luminous
39 4.8
faint
157 2.7

Surface Forms

noctilucent positive

Morphology

noctilucent = lucent (semi-transparent) = nocti + lucent

The meaning is compositionally 'night' + 'shining', but the combining form 'nocti-' and the adjective 'lucent' are both rare/unproductive in everyday English, so many learners would not readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word noctilucent breaks into nocti- 'night' and -lucent 'shining', like nocturnal and lucid. So, it means something that 'shines at night', such as certain clouds or glowing animals.