glory
Americannoun
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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)
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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
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glorysimple
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gloriessimple
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have gloriedperfect
-
has gloriedperfect
-
am gloryingprogressive
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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
Beowulf vocabulary
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The Star Spangled Banner
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"Revolution 2.0," Vocabulary from the memoir
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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 crowning glory of the collection is arguably the first-ever Flash Gordon comic strip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Unlike Ronaldo in 2014 or Luka Modric in 2018, he cannot point to Champions League glory as Bayern Munich's European campaign ended in the semi-finals against eventual winners Paris St-Germain.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Lafayette’s failures in France only intensified the glory of his role in the Revolution of 1776.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Bishop and Baucom found that flower size and flowering time became linked in the morning glory populations during the relatively short nine-year study period.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
These are the zits you can feel for days before they fully emerge on your skin in all their glory.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
“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
“Lonely in the Future,” which in part explains why the Strokes have no wish to replicate past glories, is the most direct song on the record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
She had spawned one son, Francis, who in Jean Louise’s opinion looked and behaved like a horse, and who long ago left Maycomb for the glories of selling insurance in Birmingham.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
"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
A 1964 Covina estate, where some descendants of the founder of the Singer sewing machine company liked to summer, gloried in a koi pond, an aviary and a 10-bed bomb shelter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
But Gielen gloried in the critical discomfort, in defying the expectations of a culture industry he thought had its priorities all wrong.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022
As D.C. suffered and then gloried in a few winning teams, Tom spoke for the fans, always.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2021
She grew very big—abnormally big, even at a time when women gloried in big babies and counted extra pounds with pride.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
"He was glorying in what he had done," Mr Aspden added.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2021
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
But this wasn’t a moment of triumphalism, or of glorying in the moment.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 17, 2018
I should be glorying in seeing Cardan like this.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Definitions 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.
