Words for light and dark
Words for what light does and where it goes: the soft flicker of lambent, the sparkle of coruscate, the warmth of the sun in winter, the half light of dusk, and the darkness of soot and cloud.
dazzle
DAZ-uhl, verb
To impress greatly; to blind briefly with light.
“The rookie dazzled the scouts in her first quarter.”
gloomy
GLOO-mee, adjective
Dark, dim, or low in spirits.
“The gloomy forecast canceled the picnic before the rain did.”
hazy
HAY-zee, adjective
Veiled by mist; unclear or vague in memory.
“Details of that summer are hazy now, but the songs remain.”
murky
MUR-kee, adjective
Dark and unclear.
“The pond turned murky after the storm.”
diaphanous
dahy-AF-uh-nuhs, adjective
Light, delicate, and translucent.
“Diaphanous curtains turned the noon sun to milk.”
apricity
uh-PRIS-ih-tee, noun
The warmth of the sun in winter.
“The cat found the one square of apricity on the kitchen floor.”
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coruscate
KOR-uh-skayt, verb
To flash and sparkle with light.
“Frost coruscated on the windshield in the parking-lot lights.”
crepuscular
kri-PUS-kyuh-ler, adjective
Relating to twilight; active at dusk.
“Rabbits are crepuscular, which explains the empty noon garden.”
effulgent
ih-FUHL-juhnt, adjective
Shining brilliantly; radiant.
“The valley turned effulgent for ten minutes at dusk.”
etiolate
EE-tee-uh-layt, verb
To make pale and weakened, as a plant kept from light.
“Three years of meetings had etiolated his old ambitions.”
fuliginous
fyoo-LIJ-ih-nuhs, adjective
Sooty; dark and smoky in color.
“A fuliginous haze hung over the grill station all shift.”
lambent
LAM-buhnt, adjective
Glowing softly; flickering lightly over a surface.
“Lambent candlelight forgave every flaw in the plaster.”
obnubilate
ob-NOO-bih-layt, verb
To cloud over; to obscure.
“Jargon obnubilates what one plain sentence would confess.”
pellucid
puh-LOO-sid, adjective
Transparently clear, in water or in prose.
“Her pellucid summary ended a month of confusion in one paragraph.”
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