incandescent
- Emitting light as a result of being heated to a very high temperature; glowing with intense heat.
- Filled with strong emotion, especially anger, or brilliantly impressive in quality or talent (figurative use).
In a sentence
- The incandescent filament inside the old bulb cast a warm, amber light across the room.
- The director was reportedly incandescent with rage when the lead actor arrived two hours late.
Usage note. In figurative use, 'incandescent' most often describes intense anger in British English; when describing talent or performance it means dazzlingly brilliant, so context is key.
Where it comes from
English incandescent · entered English late 18th c.
From Latin 'incandescere,' meaning 'to become hot, glow,' formed from 'in-' (intensifier) and 'candescere,' from 'candere,' meaning 'to shine, glow white.' The word entered English in the late 18th century, initially in scientific contexts.