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Definition of "prismatic" [pris•mat•ic]

  • Of, relating to, resembling, or being a prism. (adjective)
  • Formed by refraction of light through a prism. Used of a spectrum of light. (adjective)
  • Brilliantly colored; iridescent. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "prismatic" in a sentence
  • "Once you accept a few basic concepts — that there are three primary colors and that the same three basic colors exist as rays in prismatic light, that colors are seen because that portion of light is destroyed when it reaches a colored surface, that white (i.e., light) is necessary to see color and black — then you understand that, when the three true primitives are perfectly combined, all rays of light are destroyed and that therefore that combination is the negation of light."
  • "I've said, is not emerald green, as most folks think -- that is, not unless it is seen under what science-folks call the prismatic action of light -- but a dull white that is almost opaque."
  • "I recalled prismatic music-hall posters -- of enormous acreage -- that had been the unnoticed background of my visits to London for years past."