86
Words learned
Saturday · word of the day
Pull one new word deeper into your vocabulary.
One word a day, four ways to see it, three ways to use it. We file it into your collection forever — Nova quizzes you on it next week so it actually sticks.
SATURDAY · MAY 23, 2026
WORD OF THE DAY · #142 IN YOUR STREAK
+ 30 XP · +5 ◈ ON FIRST USE
Lambent.
ADJECTIVE
/ ˈlam-bənt /
ACADEMIC TIER · ★★★
Glowing softly; running over a surface with a gentle radiance — the way firelight plays on a windowpane.
Etymology
From Latin lambere — "to lick" — the same root that gives us lambast. The image is of flame "licking" softly across a surface, not consuming it.
Synonyms
luminous
glowing
radiant
flickering
gleaming
Antonyms
dim
murky
opaque
shadowy
Watch out for
Not the same as brilliant (sharp, intense) or incandescent (white-hot). Lambent is always soft.
See it in three lives.
▣ LITERATURE
"The candles cast a lambent half-light, the kind that made you whisper without meaning to."
— Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch · adapted
▣ COLLEGE-PREP
"As used in reading comprehension, 'lambent' most nearly means —" a typical vocabulary-in-context prompt
READING COMPREHENSION · MEDIUM
▣ EVERYDAY
"There was a lambent glow under the bedroom door — she'd left the desk lamp on again."
CONVERSATIONAL · LIGHT TOUCH
Your vocabulary mastery.
19
Mastered
142
Day streak
12
Due for review
New (intro)14
In review38
Shaky15
Mastered19
Practice deck · 12 due
CARD 1 OF 12 · WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Ennui
Tap card or "FLIP" to check
DEFINITION
A feeling of listlessness and weary dissatisfaction — boredom dressed up in French.
CARD 1 / 12
0 / 12 SOLVED
Your word collection.
N
Nova · vocab coach
Ready for a 5-question pop quiz on words you've nearly mastered?
I picked four "shaky" words and one new one. Takes 90 seconds, locks in another notch toward your Vocab Virtuoso badge.