phosphorescent

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phosphorescent

Rhymes with -ɛsənt

Where it comes from

From phosphorus + -escent.

It's interesting to note that phosphorus is not phosphorescent. Some phosphoric mixtures can be luminescent through chemical reactions, but none exhibit literal phosphorescence.

adjective more phosphorescent · most phosphorescent

Having the property of emitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away, e.g., in electrostatic storage tubes and cathode-ray tubes. So he imports this special breed of scorpions and feeds them on metal meal and the scorpions turned a phosphorescent blue color and sort of hummed.
Similar: briny

noun phosphorescents

A phosphorescent substance.

Translations

Every language

adj emitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away

Español	fosforescente
Português	fosforescente
Français	phosphorescent
Italiano	fosforescente
Ελληνικά	φωσφορίζων fosforízon

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MLA

"phosphorescent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/phosphorescent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

phosphorescent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/phosphorescent

Chicago

"phosphorescent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/phosphorescent.

BibTeX

@misc{phosphorescent_2026,
  title = {phosphorescent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/phosphorescent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}