incandesce means to make or become incandescent, especially by the application of heat. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why this word is great
INCANDESCE — [Verb] To make or become incandescent, especially by reaching a state of white-hot luminosity through intense heat. A back-formation from the adjective 'incandescent', which is from Latin incandescere, from in- (intensive) + candescere (to become white or glow), from candere (to shine, be white). Unlike "glow" (which suggests a steady, ambient warmth) or "ignite" (which names the initial spark of combustion), "incandesce" describes the specific, transformative climax where matter is turned to light. It is the tungsten filament at the instant before it fails—a miniature, contained star; the blinding, silent scream of metal in a forge; the final, perfect ember of a dying fire, where wood is no longer fuel, but pure radiance. To incandesce is to be consumed into a brief and violent argument against the cold.
verb
- To make or become incandescent, especially by the application of heat.“It incandesces in sulphurous acid at ordinary temperatures, sulphate of protoxide of lead being the product; it also incandesces when triturated with ⅛th of its weight of cane-sugar, or ⅙th of grape-sugar.”