shining

[ shahy-ning ]

/ ˈʃaɪ nɪŋ /

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adjective

radiant; gleaming; bright.

resplendent; brilliant: shining talents.

conspicuously fine: a shining example.

Nearby words

Origin of shining

before 900; Middle English s(c)hininge, schininde, Old English scinende; see shine¹, -ing²

SYNONYMS FOR shining

1. glistening, effulgent. 2. lustrous. 3. outstanding, distinguished, eminent, prime, splendid.

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Related formsshin·ing·ly, adverbself-shin·ing, adjectiveun·shin·ing, adjective

Synonym study

1. See bright.

shine

[ shahyn ]

/ ʃaɪn /

verb (used without object), shone or shined, shin·ing.

to give forth or glow with light; shed or cast light.

to be bright with reflected light; glisten; sparkle.

(of light) to appear brightly or strongly, especially uncomfortably so: Wear dark glasses so the sun won't shine in your eyes.

to be or appear unusually animated or bright, as the eyes or face.

to appear with brightness or clearness, as feelings.

to excel or be conspicuous: to shine in school.

verb (used with object), shone or shined, shin·ing.

to cause to shine.

to direct the light of (a lamp, mirror, etc.): Shine the flashlight on the steps so I can see.

to put a gloss or polish on; polish (as shoes, silverware, etc.).

noun

radiance or brightness caused by emitted or reflected light.

luster; polish.

sunshine; fair weather.

a polish or gloss given to shoes.

an act or instance of polishing shoes.

Informal. a foolish prank; caper.

Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a black person.

Verb Phrases past and past participle shone or shined; present participle shin·ing.

shine up to, Informal.

to attempt to impress (a person), especially in order to gain benefits for oneself.
to become especially attentive to (one of the opposite sex): Men shine up to her like moths to a light.

Origin of shine

before 900; Middle English s(c)hinen (v.), Old English scīnan; cognate with Dutch schijnen, German scheinen, Old Norse skīna, Gothic skeinan

SYNONYMS FOR shine

1. glimmer, shimmer. Shine, beam, glare refer to the emitting or reflecting of light. Shine refers to a steady glowing or reflecting of light: to shine in the sun. That which beams gives forth a radiant or bright light: to beam like a star. Glare refers to the shining of a light that is not only bright but so strong as to be unpleasant and dazzling: to glare like a headlight. 9. buff, burnish, brighten. 11. gloss, gleam, glow, sheen.

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Related formsun·shined, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shining

As Randy notes, “Maybe there is a value in shining a light on this and asking the questions.”
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism|Samantha Allen|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This award is fought over tooth-and-nail each year by political consultants from sea to shining sea.
The Strangest, Cheesiest, Most Brazenly False Political Ads of 2014|Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They were, if you believed the Soviet propaganda machine, a shining example of communism at work.
Putin’s Hockey Pal Tells All: Slava Fetisov on ‘Red Army,’ Soviet Nostalgia, and What Drives Putin|Marlow Stern|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Call it LANifest destiny: the sense the Internet should be available, everywhere, from sea to shining sea.
Keep Our Wilderness Off Of Wi-Fi|Michael Schulson|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Tonight, millions of Americans from sea to shining sea will gasp at a night sky filled with brilliant colors and loud explosions.
James Madison’s Lesson in Delayed Great-ification|Kevin Bleyer|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With shining eyes, Crochard dropped on one knee beside his adversary, and bent for a moment above the body.
The Destroyer|Burton Egbert Stevenson
Twinkling, shining, expanding, the stars grew into a pair of eyes in the darkness.
Camps and Trails|Henry Abbott
The stars were shining when we came out on the terrace, and the waning moon still hung its crescent overhead.
From Egypt to Japan|Henry M. Field
Mary sat with shining eyes in the front row of wooden chairs.
Langford of the Three Bars|Kate Boyles
It was a luminous, shining mist—and it was gathering into form!
Astounding Stories, April, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for shining

shine

/ (ʃaɪn) /

verb shines, shining or shone

(intr) to emit light

(intr) to glow or be bright with reflected light

(tr) to direct the light of (a lamp, etc)he shone the torch in my eyes

(tr; past tense and past participle shined) to cause to gleam by polishingto shine shoes

(intr) to be conspicuously competent; excelshe shines at tennis

(intr) to appear clearly; be conspicuousthe truth shone out of his words

noun

the state or quality of shining; sheen; lustre

rain or shine or come rain or shine

whatever the weather
regardless of circumstances

informal short for moonshine (def. 2)

informal a liking or fancy (esp in the phrase take a shine to)

Word Origin for shine

Old English scīnan; related to Old Norse skīna, Gothic skeinan, Old High German scīnan to shine, Greek skia shadow

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

Word Origin and History for shining

shine

Old English scinan "shed light, be radiant, be resplendent, iluminate," of persons, "be conspicuous" (class I strong verb; past tense scan, past participle scinen), from Proto-Germanic *skinan (cf. Old Saxon and Old High German skinan, Old Norse and Old Frisian skina, Dutch schijnen, German scheinen, Gothic skeinan "to shine, appear"), from PIE root *skai- (2) "to gleam, shine, flicker" (cf. Sanskrit chaya "brilliance, luster; shadow," Greek skia "shade," Old Church Slavonic sinati "to flash up, shine," Albanian he "shadow"). Transitive meaning "to black (boots)" is from 1610s. Related: Shined (in the shoe polish sense), otherwise shone; shining.

shine

1520s, "brightness," from shine (v.). Meaning "polish given to a pair of boots" is from 1871. Derogatory meaning "black person" is from 1908. Phrase to take a shine to "fancy" is American English slang from 1839, perhaps from shine up to "attempt to please as a suitor." Shiner is from late 14c. as "something that shines;" sense of "black eye" first recorded 1904.

Idioms and Phrases with shining

shine

In addition to the idiom beginning with shine

shine up to

also see:

make hay while the sun shines
rain or shine
rise and shine
take a fancy (shine) to

shining

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of shining

Synonym study

shine

verb (used without object), shone or shined, shin·ing.

verb (used with object), shone or shined, shin·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases past and past participle shone or shined; present participle shin·ing.

Origin of shine

Examples from the Web for shining

shine

verb shines, shining or shone

noun

Word Origin for shine

shine

shine

shine