beginning to be, do, show, etc: convalescent, luminescent
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
-escent,
- a suffix of adjectives borrowed from Latin, where it had an inchoative force;
often corresponding to verbs in -esce and nouns in -escence: convalescent;
recrudescent.
- Latin, stem of -ēscēns, present participle ending
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'-escent' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-escence
- acescent
- adularescent
- albescent
- alkalescent
- arborescent
- calescent
- candescent
- canescent
- caulescent
- concupiscent
- fluorescent
- frutescent
- glabrescent
- glaucescent
- ignescent
- inflorescence
- iridescent
- juvenescent
- lactescent
- liquescent
- marcescent
- mollescent
- nigrescent
- obsolescent
- opalescent
- pearlescent
- phosphorescent
- pubescent
- senescent
- spinescent
- spumescent
- suffrutescent
- tabescent
- tumescent
- turgescent
- violescent
- virescent
- viridescent
- vitrescent