glory
Americannoun
-
glories
plural
-
very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown.
to win glory on the field of battle.
-
something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride.
a sonnet that is one of the glories of English poetry.
-
adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving.
Give glory to God.
-
resplendent beauty or magnificence.
the glory of autumn.
- Synonyms:
- effulgence, refulgence, brilliance
-
a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.
-
a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc..
She was in her glory when her horse won the Derby.
-
the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
-
a ring, circle, or surrounding radiance of light represented about the head or the whole figure of a sacred person, as Christ or a saint; a halo, nimbus, or aureole.
verb (used without object)
-
glories,
present (3rd person singular)
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gloried,
past participle, past
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glorying
present participle
-
to exult with triumph; rejoice proudly (usually followed byin ).
Their father gloried in their success.
-
Obsolete. to boast.
interjection
idioms
-
glory days / years, the time of greatest achievement, popularity, success, or the like.
the glory days of radio.
-
go to glory, to die. Also go to one's glory.
noun
-
exaltation, praise, or honour, as that accorded by general consent
the glory for the exploit went to the captain
-
something that brings or is worthy of praise (esp in the phrase crowning glory )
-
thanksgiving, adoration, or worship
glory be to God
-
pomp; splendour
the glory of the king's reign
-
radiant beauty; resplendence
the glory of the sunset
-
the beauty and bliss of heaven
-
a state of extreme happiness or prosperity
verb
-
to triumph or exult
-
obsolete (intr) to brag
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
glorysimple
-
gloriessimple
-
have gloriedperfect
-
has gloriedperfect
-
am gloryingprogressive
-
are gloryingprogressive
-
is gloryingprogressive
-
have been gloryingperfect progressive
-
has been gloryingperfect progressive
Past
-
gloriedsimple
-
had gloriedperfect
-
was gloryingprogressive
-
were gloryingprogressive
-
had been gloryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glory
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French glorie, from Latin glōria
Explanation
Glory is brilliant, radiant beauty. You might admire a princess in all her glory, since she seems almost too gorgeous to be real. Glory is also a term that is sometimes used in a religious way. It means the glow or light that appears around the head of a holy person or saint, like a halo. Another use of glory is a state of high honor gained from great achievements. If you have heard the expression "you're in your glory," it means that you are very happy and proud — you must have reached one of your big goals.
Vocabulary lists containing glory
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The Star Spangled Banner
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The film is brutally honest in its depictions of cold human narcissism and the relentless pursuit of glory in the name of nebulous spiritual fulfillment.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
I’d be thinking, I’m going to have him through his glory years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
And, if recent events are any indication, the Cheesecake Factory, in all its grand and zany glory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
So, why are English clubs so dominant in Europe's secondary competitions - and why hasn't this transferred to consistent Champions League glory?
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Nhamo opened her eyes briefly onto a glory of shining mist.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
After securing safety, albeit after a few scares, the club spent more than £300m on summer signings for the first time in their history as they backed De Zerbi to restore them to former glories.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
“Elsinore” captures that journey in all of its glories and taxing challenges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
In morning glories, researchers found that the population's rate of adaptation fell by 96% over nine years.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Sometimes they featured celebrities recounting past glories or promoting their newest releases.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
If such a thing as telepathy existed, one of its glories would be the opportunity for each of us to read the books in the cerebral cortices of our loved ones.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Imagine how popular that was to the hot-rodders and cruisers and suburban commuters who gloried in being two- or three-car households.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2023
He again gloried in the spotlight on Thursday, as the purveyor of information about the whereabouts of Mr. Prigozhin.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
"I think the critics are looking backwards to a gloried past, and fail to see the strategic picture vis a vis China and technology in a really disappointing way," he says.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2023
As D.C. suffered and then gloried in a few winning teams, Tom spoke for the fans, always.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2021
While I gloried in the beauty of these buildings, I was ambivalent about what they represented.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“It could provide all its people with some rational way to live together while still glorying in their cultural diversity.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2022
So on Monday, when he should have been glorying in his victory, he apologised again.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 3, 2020
A video from Atlanta, in 2016, shows her glorying in one of her signature encores, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 3, 2019
Ed. note: I will be on vacation next week, glorying in the delights of the 35th state so we will have to leave the mailbag aside for a while.
From Fox News ● Jul. 26, 2019
Theresa gave an encore; the family leaned over the rail like operagoers, glorying in the sound.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
