iris
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil which in turn controls the amount of light that enters the eye.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyeruhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaɪɹəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
Muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil which in turn controls the amount of light that enters the eye; it forms the colored portion of the eye
anatomy
The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil, which adjusts to control the amount of light reaching the retina, and which forms the colored portion of the eye (See Iris (anatomy) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia).
photographycinematography
A diaphragm used to regulate the size of a hole, especially as a way of controlling the amount of light reaching a lens.
verb
literary
To cause (something) to shine with the colours of the rainbow; to make iridescent.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil which in turn controls the amount of light that enters the eye; it forms the colored portion of the eye
Used this way, iris is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use iris
- “She admired the vibrant blue iris flower blooming in the garden.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.