glistening

adjective

glis·​ten·​ing ˈgli-sᵊn-iŋ How to pronounce glistening (audio)
: shining with reflected light
a damp, glistening surface
… a wonderland of glistening, shallow lakes of rainwater …Joseph Judge
The boatman was a tiny man with glistening brown skin and an almost circular mouth.Bruce Chatwin
… contrasting dark surfaces with glistening decorative details.Architectural Digest
Monroe County will always be unique because it is a collection of little tropical islands sprinkled across the glistening waters off the southern tip of the peninsula.George Laycock
glisteningly adverb
The cup across from her was icily clean, glisteningly empty. Sinclair Lewis

Examples of glistening in a Sentence

a glistening marble table top
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While Alberta Ferretti creative director Lorenzo Serafini's runway design featured glistening embellishments and more dramatic draping, the shoppable cape dress does not include an open back at all. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 19 Oct. 2025 Ye Fan for The New York Times Caroline Palmer was telling the story of how she got hired at Vogue in 2001 when a waitress at Tierney’s Tavern plunked two pints of beer and a pile of glistening onion rings on the table between us. New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 Then, the pale, glistening creature emerged from beneath the waves. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2025 Next, there was another close-up of her face, showing her skin glistening, as well as her tattoo and the black Rhode pillow. Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025 Kathy Ten Eyck flew from Utica, New York into New Mexico to visit the glistening dunes of White Sands National Park. Alana Wise, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025 The ridiculously nourishing formula leaves you glistening but never greasy, with the coconut, açai, and brazil nut oils restoring suppleness to a level that pleased our testers as much as its tropical, coconutty scent and mess-free pump. Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025 What can any of us make of our momentary intimate lives in such an immense world, with equally immense unknowns, mysteries as great as death or the whale, as deep as love or the ocean, as sad and beautiful as a jellyfish torn and glistening in a small fortress of shore rock? Natalie Diaz september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025 Outdoor scenes especially are artfully composed, such as a distant view of a bridge with the river flowing under it in the foreground, or the glistening look of a puddle on the street at night. Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of glistening was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Glistening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glistening. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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