adjective
-
resembling glass, esp in smoothness, slipperiness, or transparency
-
void of expression, life, or warmth
a glassy stare
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of glassy
First recorded in 1350–1400, glassy is from the Middle English word glasy. See glass, -y 1
Explanation
If your eyes are glassy, they're lifeless, glazed and emotionless. A stuffed teddy bear has glassy eyes, and so does an overtired toddler. You might spend a glassy-eyed hour every morning before you've completely woken up and are ready to start your day. You can also describe shiny, glossy substances as glassy: "The glassy surface of the ice-covered sidewalk made her walk with tiny, careful steps." Glassy comes from the Old English glæs, "glass," and its Proto-Indo-European root ghel-, "to shine."
Vocabulary lists containing glassy
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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:
“Light offshore wind. Clean, glassy barrels,” he declares softly to the camera as gray waves break behind him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The glassy surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats has attracted drivers from all over the world for more than a century, as they try to go faster and faster.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
"The discovery indicates that perhaps the first sponges were spongy but not glassy," Xiao said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026
Mint.com founder and former CEO Aaron Patzer purchased his modern, glassy, five-bedroom home on 22 acres of oceanfront property—located about an hour’s drive north of Auckland, New Zealand—for $2 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Mrs. Hameed's eyes are glassy and tired, reminding me of my mom.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
The marbles they talk about are the lively glassies and marididdles that determine the annual marbles championship of England, oldest sporting event in the Kingdom.
From Time Magazine Archive
We had them all: cat’s-eyes, aggies, dearies, milkies, steelies, glassies, onionskins.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Cal was able to develop his marble game and set about gathering in all the chalkies and immies, glassies and agates, in the schoolyard.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
In a cyberwar, the United States has much bigger stones but much glassier houses.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Information ops and counterops are a delicate business; modern societies are glass houses when it comes to cyber vulnerability, and the United States is glassier than most.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2018
We have better cyber rocks to throw at other nations’ houses, but our house is glassier than theirs.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2016
The setting was glossier and glassier than ever before.
From Time Magazine Archive
One of the results of his absorbed mood was that he greeted Aline with a stare of an even glassier quality than usual.
From Something New by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
Cyber Command, put it before he entered government, America still “lives in the glassiest of glass houses.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2021
As Michael Sulmeyer, now a senior adviser to United States Cyber Command, put it before he entered government, America “lives in the glassiest of glass houses.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2020
Driven by a two-stroke engine that generates 350 lbs. of thrust, the Jetboard can carve up even the glassiest surface in a sport that combines the ease of water skiing with the freedom of surfing.
From Time Magazine Archive
State Department's glassiest stares, announced before leaving Nicaragua that he would not be a candidate in the February elections.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
