adjective
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glossy or polished; bright
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(of clothes or material) worn to a smooth and glossy state, as by continual rubbing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of shiny
Explanation
Shiny describes something with a smooth, glossy surface. If you want to see your reflection in the glass table, you'll have to polish it to keep it shiny. Something shiny has a shine, a brightness that comes from reflecting light. Are you into shiny new cars, or shiny diamonds? Or do you like shiny, happy people? Good synonyms are lustrous, sheeny and glossy.
Vocabulary lists containing shiny
Lyrics from "Umbrella" by Rihanna
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"A Suitcase of Seaweed" and "Immigrants Today"
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Let There Be Light: Synonyms for "Bright"
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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:
Musk is savvy at securing investment, whether his shiny pronouncements about the future prove real or not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The court, housed in a shiny glass building on the outskirts of The Hague, employs around 900 staff from 100 nationalities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
So you might be wondering why I’m already talking about shiny new cards with triple-digit annual fees.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
And now, there's a never-ending stream of posts on Insta and TikTok promoting shiny, natural-looking nails, and detailing how you can get them yourself.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
But this apple wasn’t shiny green; it was wrinkled and almost as gray as the cloth that was tucked up under my chin.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Ormat’s market cap is modest compared with shinier energy upstarts, at around $8 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The original’s Cylons were the show’s answer to George Lucas’ stormtroopers in “Star Wars,” only shinier, with sinister red lights roving back and forth where their eyes should be.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
After volatile recent days, following record highs for silver, precious metals started the new year on a bright note with gold up 0.64 percent per ounce and silver 1.5 percent shinier.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Neither project did anything like the numbers of his shinier, smilier teen-idol stuff, though each seemed like a crucial reset for a guy battling the pressures of early onset celebrity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2025
They looked like crows, but puffier and shinier and much, much bigger.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
Letterboxd Journal would be replaced by the advertorial “journalism” of Netflix Tudum, or lame writing about the library of films currently available on whichever streamer or studio makes the shiniest offer.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Today, these centres are the shiniest parts of India's red-hot economy but not everyone has been able to enjoy the boom times as opportunities remain uneven.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Freston drove consistent double-digit growth for 17 years; by 2001 the company had reached $3 billion in revenue—the shiniest gem in the Viacom universe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
He travelled to matches at home and abroad, from the grassroots to the shiniest showcases.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2024
The beautiful woman who cleaned the ladies’ toilet was Ghanaian, about his age, with the shiniest dark skin he had ever seen.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
