gleaming

American  

[glee-ming] / ˈgli mɪŋ /

adjective

1. giving off or appearing to give off light or brightness; radiant; shining.

   A cold, gray light filtered down through the bushes and lay on the faintly gleaming sand.

   The newest release is a gleaming composite of epic, unabashedly pretty '70s songwriting and fancy-pants disco hedonism.

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Other Word Forms

• gleamingly
  adverb
• ungleaming
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gleaming

gleam ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

Teeth in toothpaste commercials are gleaming. They sparkle when the light hits. When you see this word, think of a bright reflected ray of light, on teeth, on water, or in someone's smiling eyes. A new skyscraper that reflects light might also be described as gleaming. If you are excited to move to a new place, someone might say that your eyes are gleaming with excitement, especially as you view the gleaming wood floors and gleaming freshly-washed windows of your new home. The word has a clean, glittering, sparkly feel to it.

Example Sentences

Gleaming white feathers covered its head, neck and chest, yielding to black plumes on its wings.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2024

Gleaming spots caused by methane ice clouds in the planet's atmosphere dapple its lower half.

From Scientific American • Dec. 20, 2022

Twilight Gleaming led the whole way in the five-furlong $1-million Juvenile Turf Sprint.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2021

Twilight Gleaming paid $12.40 to win and ran five furlongs in 56.24 seconds.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2021

Gleaming in the brilliant midday sun, they appeared no different from the harmless puffs of convection condensation that rose from the valley almost every afternoon.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• bright
• burnished
• glassy
• glazed
• glistening
• lustrous
• polished
• shining
• shiny
• sleek