iridescence
/ˌɪɹ.ɪˈdɛs.əns/
"iridescence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“iridescence” is uncommon English (frequency #77,806 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #77,806
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The condition or state of being iridescent; exhibition of colors like those of the rainbow; a prismatic play of color.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | iridescence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈdɛs.əns/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #77,806 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “iridescence” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
iridescence is uncommon English at frequency #77,806 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈdɛs.əns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for iridescence, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is iridescence, spelled I-R-I-D-E-S-C-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1The condition or state of being iridescent; exhibition of colors like those of the rainbow; a prismatic play of color.
- 2Any shimmer of glittering and changeable colors.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “iridescence”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-R-I-D-E-S-C-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈdɛs.əns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.