coruscate

American  

[kawr-uh-skeyt, kor-] / ˈkɔr əˌskeɪt, ˈkɒr- /

verb (used without object)

coruscated, coruscating

1. to emit vivid flashes of light; sparkle; scintillate; gleam.

   Here was a sapphire, perfectly spherical and over four inches in diameter, that coruscated with a dazzling blue fire.

2. to show spectacular technique or mastery.

   His writing coruscates with brilliant poetic flourishes.

   The lead player’s coruscating guitar work is a signature feature of many tracks on the album.

---

coruscate British  

/ ˈkɒrəˌskeɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to emit flashes of light; sparkle

---

Other Word Forms

• coruscating adjective

Etymology

Origin of coruscate

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin coruscātus, past participle of coruscāre “to quiver, flash”; see coruscant

Explanation

Coruscate is a verb that means to sparkle or give off reflected flashes of light. Think of the way the little mirrors on a disco ball coruscate as the ball twirls, making the dance floor sparkle. Although coruscate means to glitter with light, you can also use the word, in a less literal way, to refer to someone with such great style or ability that they seem to sparkle. Your best friend's performance in the school play might coruscate with such brilliance that the audience gives her a standing ovation during her curtain call.

Example Sentences

Metallic shards of blue, red, and white light coruscate across the reflective steel and glass backdrop.

From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2017

He has deployed witticisms and aphorisms that coruscate with good-natured sophistication.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2017

The shadow chancellor stood at the House of Commons despatch box at 13.20 GMT to coruscate Philip Hammond over his Autumn Statement.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2016

He admires the centuries-old abbey: O'er this north door a trace still lingers Of how a Gothic craftsman's fingers Could make stones creep like ivy stems And tilings coruscate like gems.

From Time Magazine Archive

I am not what sportsmen call a 'heavyweight' of literature—but I can coruscate, which your colossi cannot.

From Shadows of Flames A Novel by Rives, Amélie