adjective
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resembling a pearl, esp in lustre
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of the colour pearl; pale bluish-grey
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decorated with pearls or mother-of-pearl
noun
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a London costermonger who wears on ceremonial occasions a traditional dress of dark clothes covered with pearl buttons
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(plural) the clothes or the buttons themselves
Other Word Forms
- pearliness noun
Etymology
Origin of pearly
First recorded in 1400–50, pearly is from the late Middle English word peerly. See pearl, -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their soft, pearly color disguised the fact that they were razor sharp and steel hard.
From Literature
The sun was setting as a pearly wisp of smoke curled out of the furious blur in my hands.
From Literature
"Thank you dentist" she smiled on the red carpet, showing off those pearly whites.
From BBC
She asked me how my daddy made it to the pearly gates of heaven.
From Literature
His beloved Jane Foster passed through the pearly gates of Valhalla into the afterlife, while his sibling Loki veers wildly from being an ally to an adversary.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
