rutilate means to shine; to emit rays of light. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
rutilate is pronounced /ˈɹuːtɪleɪt/.
Why “rutilate” is a great word
RUTILATE — [Verb] To shine or glow with a radiant, shimmering light, specifically of a reddish or golden hue. From Latin rutilāre (“to redden, to glow, to shine”), from rutilus (“reddish, golden-red”). First known use circa 1623. Unlike “glow” (which suggests a steady, warm emanation from within) or “glisten” (which describes a cold, reflective sparkle from a surface), to rutilate is to emit an active, metallic shimmer, tinged with fire or copper. It is the coppery flash of a trout’s flank in a sunlit stream, the burnished sheen of autumnal beech leaves, and the last reverberant gleam of a dying forge—a fleeting brilliance that is the very signature of ardent and transient things.
verb
- To shine; to emit rays of light.“concentrated and rutilating nitrous acid”