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Synonyms

sheeny

1 American  
[shee-nee] / ˈʃi ni /

adjective

sheenier, sheeniest
  1. shining; lustrous.


sheeny 2 American  
[shee-nee] / ˈʃi ni /
Or sheeney,

noun

Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
  • sheenies
    plural
  1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Jew.


sheeny British  
/ ˈʃiːnɪ /

noun

  1. slang a derogatory word for a Jew

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of sheeny1

First recorded in 1615–25; sheen + -y 1

Origin of sheeny2

First recorded in 1810–20; origin obscure

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.

See Examples For:

Its pink-and-green neon parrot sign lit the way to some of the most satisfying chili cheese fries I’ve ever eaten: crinkle-cut potatoes, sheeny Velveeta-yellow cheese sauce, chili ladled from a mini-crockpot in the back.

From Salon Sep. 16, 2025

So: The sharp, sheeny person doing step-and-repeats at the Tonys?

From New York Times Jul. 24, 2023

But it was perhaps the billowing, sheeny cargo pants that best illustrated Wooyoungmi’s craftsmanship.

From Seattle Times Jun. 25, 2023

Difference appeared in fabric textures and colors: one sheeny taupe shirt came under a honeydew leather jacket above fluid black pants.

From Washington Times Jun. 25, 2022

The gleaming wings flashed and circled in the light, and presently the gravel was covered with the pretty, strutting things, nodding their sheeny necks, and chuckling softly to each other.

From The Tree of Knowledge A Novel by Mrs. Baillie Reynolds

It was triumph and victory and paean in action to go flashing along over this footing, smoother than polished marble and sheenier than first-water gems.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 52, February, 1862 by Various

In due time Sophia was delivered of a child, which the midwives examined and found to be a girl with a face sheenier than the moon.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

O thou sheeniest Sun who m night dost shine, viii.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 10 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

O thou sheeniest Sun who in night dost shine!

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 08 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

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