opaline oh puh leen s having a play of lustrous rainbow colors a milky opalescent (or opaline) luster Usage(s) They soar through the ceiling, project invisible backdrops of misted mountains against an opaline sea. But beneath the opaline makeup and behind the strong, godless front, MARILYN MANSON and ROSE MCGOWAN were hiding domestic despair. Synonym(s) iridescent nacreous opalescent pearlescent