photochromic glasses

4.9

Lenses in glasses that automatically darken in sunlight and become clear in low light

noun
/ˌfoʊtəˈkroʊmɪk ˈɡlæsɪz/

: gafas fotocromáticas

My photochromic glasses automatically darkened when I stepped into the bright afternoon sun.

Examples

He always wears his photochromic glasses so he doesn't have to switch to sunglasses outside.
The optician recommended photochromic glasses for people sensitive to changing light conditions.
I bought a pair of photochromic glasses last week.
Do you think photochromic glasses are worth the price?
When I go outside, my photochromic glasses darken to protect my eyes from the bright sun.
She prefers photochromic glasses because they adapt to different lighting conditions.
My photochromic glasses change from clear to dark quickly when I enter a sunny area.

Synonyms

sunglasses

vsphotochromic glasses

166 1.0

Glasses with dark lenses that protect your eyes from bright sunlight

darken automatically in sunlight and clear again as light decreases

dark glasses

vsphotochromic glasses

15 1.0

Glasses with dark lenses that protect your eyes from bright sunlight

darken automatically in sunlight and clear again as light decreases

photochromic eyeglasses

vsphotochromic glasses

5.8

Glasses with lenses that get dark in sunlight and go clear indoors

means the same but uses the shorter common name instead of a longer form

photochromic eyewear

vsphotochromic glasses

6.1

Glasses whose lenses become dark in sunlight and clear indoors

is limited to the framed eye product rather than all eye-worn items

How Dark

sunglasses

166 1.0

photochromic glasses

4.9

clear

866 1.0

Surface Forms

photochromic glasses singular

photochromic glasses plural

Morphology

photochromic + glasses

The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'photochromic' (changing color in response to light) + 'glasses' (eyewear), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer that these are glasses that darken in sunlight and clear in low light. This adjective+noun compounding is a regular, compositional pattern found cross-linguistically, making the MWE predictable to a B1 learner who knows the parts.

Etymology

Photochromic glasses comes from the parts photo and chromic, which are words for 'light' and 'color'. That gives a clear image: the lenses change color when light changes, so they darken in bright sun and become clear indoors.