- present participle of glow.
glowing
Americanadjective
-
rich and warm in coloring.
glowing colors.
-
showing the radiance of health, excitement, etc..
glowing cheeks.
-
warmly favorable or complimentary.
a glowing account of her work.
- Synonyms:
- unstinting, rapturous, enthusiastic, wholehearted, ardent
adjective
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emitting a steady bright light without flames
glowing embers
-
warm and rich in colour
the room was decorated in glowing shades of gold and orange
-
flushed and rosy, as from exercise or excitement
glowing cheeks
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displaying or indicative of extreme satisfaction, pride, or emotion
he gave a glowing account of his son's achievements
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glowing
before 1000; Middle English glowynge, Old English glowende. See glow, -ing 2
Explanation
If something is glowing, it's either lit up like a light or it's full of praise and enthusiasm. So, you could receive a glowing candle or a glowing report card. You choose. When a report or account is glowing, it's unreservedly positive, like a book critic's glowing review of a new mystery novel or your grandmother's glowing praise for the good job you did mowing her lawn. Glowing comes from glow, which can mean "a flush of radiant feeling," and which comes from the Old English glowan, "to glow or shine as if red-hot."
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.
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
That explains the rise of screenless options like Cirqa, which gather data without glowing on your wrist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Sending them off with the same phrase, toward the same glowing lights.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
