glow
Americannoun
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glows
plural
-
a light emitted by or as if by a substance heated to luminosity; incandescence.
-
brightness of color.
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a sensation or state of bodily heat.
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a warm, ruddy color of the cheeks.
-
warmth of emotion or passion; ardor.
verb (used without object)
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glows,
present (3rd person singular)
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glowed,
past participle, past
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glowing
present participle
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to emit bright light and heat without flame; become incandescent.
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to shine like something intensely heated.
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to exhibit a strong, bright color; be lustrously red or brilliant.
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(of the cheeks) to exhibit a healthy, warm, ruddy color.
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to become or feel very warm or hot.
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to show emotion or elation.
to glow with pride.
noun
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light emitted by a substance or object at a high temperature
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a steady even light without flames
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brilliance or vividness of colour
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brightness or ruddiness of complexion
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a feeling of wellbeing or satisfaction
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intensity of emotion; ardour
verb
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to emit a steady even light without flames
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to shine intensely, as if from great heat
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to be exuberant or high-spirited, as from excellent health or intense emotion
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to experience a feeling of wellbeing or satisfaction
to glow with pride
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(esp of the complexion) to show a strong bright colour, esp a shade of red
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to be very hot
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glowsimple
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glowssimple
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have glowedperfect
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has glowedperfect
-
am glowingprogressive
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are glowingprogressive
-
is glowingprogressive
-
have been glowingperfect progressive
-
has been glowingperfect progressive
Past
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glowedsimple
-
had glowedperfect
-
was glowingprogressive
-
were glowingprogressive
-
had been glowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glow
First recorded before 1000; Middle English glowen (verb), Old English glōwan; akin to German glühen, Old Norse glōa
Explanation
To glow is to shine with light. On a clear night when the moon is full, it glows in the sky. A nightlight glows in a dark room, and a distant flashlight beam glows like a candle. Other things that glow include fireflies, TV screens, and city lights when seen from an airplane at night. A person's face can also be said to glow, when it's shining and flushed with health or happiness. The radiance of light or pleasure itself can also be called a glow, from the Old English glowan, "to shine as if red-hot."
Vocabulary lists containing glow
All Aglow: Light Lingo
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 5
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for March 6–12, 2021
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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:
Now, Double Chooz has added another first to its scientific record by detecting the faint neutrino glow that continues after a nuclear reactor goes dark.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
I had gravitated to the color like a moth to light, seeking the dopamine hit of its glow, as if by osmosis I could absorb and become it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
My husband stepped into the glow of the television, a gentle, almost apologetic look on his face.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
They calmly watch a huge column of smoke rise in the background, casting an orange glow across the sky.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
With these words, the glow of all four realms brightened, like jewels pierced with sunlight.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Launched in the clubbing capital of Ibiza, it's targeted toward clubbers and festival-goers, and one of its ingredients, vitamin B2, is naturally luminescent and glows under UV club lights.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
On my final morning Puistokahvila Makia glows gold against a blue commute.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
Dana relays that if there’s a part of Ilana’s skin that glows, she’ll swab it with a wet, then dry, cotton swab.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
What remains can now only be detected in mid-infrared light, where it glows at roughly one-tenth of its original intensity.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2026
A bloom of red glows under its thin black body.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Through the cockpit, the city glowed on the horizon, a strip of twinkling lights severing the night sky from the dark Potomac river.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Like the store’s sign, the sky glowed Big Orange, hex code #F96302, or Pantone 165 C, available in the paint department inside.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026
The dining room glowed like a film set, its gently arched brick and brass softening Barcelona’s usual edge.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025
Sections of charred scaffolding fell from the burning apartment blocks in hellish scenes late on Wednesday, as flames inside apartments sometimes belched out through windows into a night sky that glowed orange.
From Barron's ● Nov. 27, 2025
Coals glowed in a small stove in the corner, no match for the room’s icy air.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Press coverage swells with glowing profiles of landowners who turned down offers from developers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
LVMvis includes an RGB HiPS emission-line map that allows users to explore the distribution and structure of glowing gas across the sky.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
That small revelation — broccoli in hand, phone glowing red — gets at the gap Goldner says he built the app to address.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Viral social media posts claim peptides can offer a range of seemingly miraculous benefits including glowing skin, stronger muscles, deeper sleep, a more alert mind -- and even provide an avenue to prevent ageing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
He nods, his brown eyes glowing in the light of the afternoon sun.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
