glisten

play

verb glis·ten \ˈgli-s^ən\

Definition of glisten

glistened

;

glistening

play \ˈgli-s^ən-iŋ\

intransitive verb
: to give off a sparkling or lustrous reflection of or as if of a moist or polished surface

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See glisten defined for kids

Examples of glisten in a Sentence

Rain made the streets glisten.
The streets glistened in the rain.
Her eyes glistened with tears.
a long beach of glistening sand

Recent Examples of glisten from the Web

The look: If whole fish is available, the eyes should be full and shiny, not shrunken; the scales should be uniform and glistening, Spicer said.

— ann maloney, NOLA.com, "No. 1 threat to tasty home-cooked salmon is so easy to avoid," 18 July 2017
But there's something distinctly seductive about listening to jazz played on a smallish stage, in an intimate setting, the waters of Lake Michigan serving as glistening backdrop (with boats gliding by every now and then).

— howard reich, chicagotribune.com, "Navy Pier's Lake Stage: An inviting new home for music," 16 July 2017
Those are some damn fine glistening muscles, my friend.

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "Drake Bell's Birthday Cake Featured a Shirtless Photo of Himself," 2 July 2017
The eye-popping photos featuring Drake's glistening muscles from every angle in a desert-like setting sent the internet into an all-out tailspin last week.

— chelsea stone, Teen Vogue, "Drake Bell's Birthday Cake Featured a Shirtless Pic of Drake Bell," 29 June 2017
A rendering of the design shows people lounging on the boulders as the prisms glisten in the sunlight.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "NYC Unveils Design for New Monument to the LGBT Community," 27 June 2017
When Mr. Papalia walked down the street, people noticed the glistening eyeball sweeping along and often started a conversation with him.

— amy dockser marcus, WSJ, "Blind Artist and Engineering Students Team Up to Create a Unique Cane," 25 June 2017
The crystal-clear shots of glistening pieces of saltwater eel are enough to make even the fish-averse want to immediately run out for omakase.

— priya krishna, GQ, "Netflix Food Documentaries (and Other Shows) to Watch if You Love Chef's Table," 21 June 2017
In the black shadows, light glistened from neighboring houses.

— Longreads, "A Portrait of the Artist as an Undocumented Immigrant," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glisten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of glisten

Middle English glistnen, from Old English glisnian; akin to Old English glisian to glitter, geolu yellow — more at yellow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of glisten

flash, gleam, glint, sparkle, glitter, glisten, glimmer, shimmer mean to send forth light. flash implies a sudden outburst of bright light. lightning flashed gleam suggests a steady light seen through an obscuring medium or against a dark background. lights gleamed in the valley glint implies a cold glancing light. glinting steel sparkle suggests innumerable moving points of bright light. the sparkling waters glitter connotes a brilliant sparkling or gleaming. glittering diamonds glisten applies to the soft sparkle from a wet or oily surface. glistening wet sidewalk glimmer suggests a faint or wavering gleam. a distant glimmering light shimmer means shining with a wavering light. a shimmering satin dress