glitter
Americanverb (used without object)
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to reflect light with a brilliant, sparkling luster; sparkle with reflected light.
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to make a brilliant show.
noun
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a sparkling reflected light or luster.
- Synonyms:
- sparkle
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showy splendor.
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small glittering ornaments.
verb
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(of a hard, wet, or polished surface) to reflect light in bright flashes
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(of light) to be reflected in bright flashes
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(usually foll by with) to be decorated or enhanced by the glamour (of)
the show glitters with famous actors
noun
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sparkle or brilliance
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show and glamour
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tiny pieces of shiny decorative material used for ornamentation, as on the skin
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Also called: silver thaw. ice formed from freezing rain
Related Words
See flash.
Other Word Forms
- glitteringly adverb
- glittery adjective
- outglitter verb (used with object)
- unglittering adjective
Etymology
Origin of glitter
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse glitra; compare Old English glitenian, German gleissen “to shine, glitter”
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.
Called both postmedieval and early modern, the Renaissance glitters as a bridge period that helped bring about the modern age.
The glittering green eyes, examining Jeremy as carefully as he was examining their owner, looked like a pair of intelligent emeralds.
From Literature
It glitters from a distance: Where the 30-foot steel border fence ends, great spirals of razor wire extend up craggy mountain slopes on either side.
From Los Angeles Times
All that glitters isn’t gold, but it’s easy to see why investors will continue to take a shine to it—and other metals—even after their historic run.
From Barron's
Above their heads, as far as he could see, nearly every surface of glittering stone was written upon.
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.
