chatoyant
/ʃəˈtɔɪ.ənt/adjective, noun
chatoyant is spelled C-H-A-T-O-Y-A-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, chatoyant means “Having a certain optical reflectance effect, which can be likened to the sheen of a spool of silk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in chatoyant?
| Letters | 9: C-H-A-T-O-Y-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 98 million words; the 317,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is chatoyant?
Chatoyant appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chatoyant?
- US /ʃəˈtɔɪ.ənt/
Chatoyant has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-chatoyant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chatoyant?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chatoyant from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɪənt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of chatoyant
- more chatoyant comparative
- most chatoyant superlative
- chatoyants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chatoyant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a certain optical reflectance effect, which can be likened to the sheen of a spool of silk.
chatoyant effect
noun
- 1
A hard stone, such as the cat's-eye, which presents on a polished surface, and in the interior, an undulating or wavy light.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does chatoyant come from?
From French chatoyant, present participle of chatoyer (“to iridesce, like a cat's eye”), from chat (“cat”, because of the reflective qualities of a cat's eye).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).