glisten
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
(of a wet or glossy surface) to gleam by reflecting light
wet leaves glisten in the sunlight
-
(of light) to reflect with brightness
the sunlight glistens on wet leaves
noun
Related Words
Glisten, shimmer, sparkle refer to different ways in which light is reflected from surfaces. Glisten refers to a lustrous light, as from something sleek or wet, or it may refer to myriads of tiny gleams reflected from small surfaces: Wet fur glistens. Snow glistens in the sunlight. Shimmer refers to the changing play of light on a (generally moving) surface, as of water or silk: Moonbeams shimmer on water. Silk shimmers in a high light. To sparkle is to give off sparks or small ignited particles, or to send forth small but brilliant gleams, sometimes by reflection: A diamond sparkles with numerous points of light.
Other Word Forms
- glisteningly adverb
- unglistening adjective
Etymology
Origin of glisten
First recorded before 1000; Middle English glis(t)nen (verb), Old English glisnian, derivative of glisian “to glitter; ” -en 1
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.
A salmon so consistently coral, so perfectly sliced that it melts in your mouth, glistening with so much naturally rich Omega-3s that it’s like a fatty halo shining on the plate.
From Salon
His coat was so glossy it glistened in the sun.
From Literature
Under the glow of fluorescent lights at Seafood City market in North Hills, packages of premade adobo, salted shrimp fry and and dried anchovies glisten in meat coolers.
From Los Angeles Times
In the brutal terrain of female cliques, beauty remains a potent, if unreliable, weapon — one which Amos, her grin a glistening pink, wryly acknowledges and critiques.
From Salon
He was standing at the front of the room, his right arm in the air, something glistening in his right hand.
From Literature
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.
