glowing
Americanadjective
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rich and warm in coloring.
glowing colors.
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showing the radiance of health, excitement, etc..
glowing cheeks.
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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
- glowingly adverb
- unglowing adjective
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.
It shows two auroras as the Earth eclipses the Sun, and the planet Venus glowing at the bottom of the image.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
The note sounds like a glowing endorsement of both the company and its management—so why is Lee sidelined on the stock?
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
As the first months passed, and their audience widened and sent glowing feedback, they began to realize they were having a big impact and touching lives.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Sora transfixed the tech world by creating seemingly realistic videos of everything from woolly mammoths trekking across a snowy field to a stylish woman walking down a Tokyo street filled with glowing neon signs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The goons fall through the air and into the glowing purple portal—only to disappear entirely.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
