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
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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
Derived 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.
A hotel in town displays paintings of the rooftops with the shipyard glowing golden in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Through telescopes or long-exposure photography, however, they reveal spectacular details including glowing clouds of gas, dying stars, and stellar nurseries scattered throughout our galaxy.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Years of glowing performance reviews aren’t enough; you also want to show that you have always cared deeply about what you do, why you do it and your employer’s positive contribution to society.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
In a dark room, a doctor pointed to an hourglass shape glowing on the ultrasound screen: There was her amniotic sac, funneling into her dilated cervix, and there was their tiny daughter’s foot, dipping out.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
And her eyes had that glowing, brighter than it had been in a long time.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
