Lambent

//ˈlæmbənt// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Brushing or flickering gently over a surface.

    "1800, William Cowper, The Task, Book VI: "The Winter Walk at Noon", Poems, J. Johnson, page 232, No foe to man / Lurks in the ſerpent now: the mother ſees, / And ſmiles to ſee, her infant's playful hand / Stretch'd forth to dally with the creſted worm, / To ſtroke his azure neck, or to receive / The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue."

  2. 2
    Glowing or luminous, but lacking heat.

    "The lambent glow of fireflies delighted the children."

  3. 3
    Exhibiting lightness or brilliance of wit; clever or witty without unkindness. figuratively

    "We appreciated her lambent comments."

Adjective
  1. 1
    softly bright or radiant wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
luminousbrightaflickeraglowalightbarely touching

Example

More examples

"1800, William Cowper, The Task, Book VI: "The Winter Walk at Noon", Poems, J. Johnson, page 232, No foe to man / Lurks in the ſerpent now: the mother ſees, / And ſmiles to ſee, her infant's playful hand / Stretch'd forth to dally with the creſted worm, / To ſtroke his azure neck, or to receive / The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue."

Etymology

From Latin lambēns, present participle of lambō (“lick”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.