adjective
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glossy or polished; bright
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(of clothes or material) worn to a smooth and glossy state, as by continual rubbing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of shiny
Explanation
Shiny describes something with a smooth, glossy surface. If you want to see your reflection in the glass table, you'll have to polish it to keep it shiny. Something shiny has a shine, a brightness that comes from reflecting light. Are you into shiny new cars, or shiny diamonds? Or do you like shiny, happy people? Good synonyms are lustrous, sheeny and glossy.
Vocabulary lists containing shiny
Lyrics from "Umbrella" by Rihanna
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"A Suitcase of Seaweed" and "Immigrants Today"
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Sula
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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:
He said the man also wore a black bomber-style jacket, black pants with red stripes and shiny black shoes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
In effect, they create an atomic scale protective barrier that allows gold to remain shiny almost indefinitely.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
"The chance to dip back into that world with some shiny new visuals and more screentime for fan favourite characters like Edward Kenway, Anne Bonny and Stede Bonnet can only be a good thing."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
"Prime take-off and landing slots, growth in higher margin holidays and an order book of shiny new Airbus aircraft make it very appealing," he said, adding that EasyJet "should go for more" than the offer.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
It is lime-green today and matches her shiny green skirt.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Ormat’s market cap is modest compared with shinier energy upstarts, at around $8 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The original’s Cylons were the show’s answer to George Lucas’ stormtroopers in “Star Wars,” only shinier, with sinister red lights roving back and forth where their eyes should be.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
After volatile recent days, following record highs for silver, precious metals started the new year on a bright note with gold up 0.64 percent per ounce and silver 1.5 percent shinier.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Shanghai was at the heart of it - bigger, shinier and trendier than any other Chinese city.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2024
Farther off, the shinier Luna Park cast its orange haze into the dark sky.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Today, these centres are the shiniest parts of India's red-hot economy but not everyone has been able to enjoy the boom times as opportunities remain uneven.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Back then, he walked into a humming, world championship–caliber operation, where everything had been optimized to the slickest, shiniest possible standards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
He travelled to matches at home and abroad, from the grassroots to the shiniest showcases.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2024
The shiniest of them is deGrom, the 34-year-old right-hander with a lively 99-mph fastball and 93-mph wipeout slider who signed a five-year, $185-million deal in December.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
The kid grew up surrounded by wooden planks and fertilizer—the shiniest object in his life was probably an old pitchfork.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
