glittering

adjective

glit·​ter·​ing ˈgli-tə-riŋ 

1

a

: shining with many bright points of light

Every few days a little glittering aeroplane appeared in the sky among the clouds and the circling hawks.

—Doris Lessing

And where the water had been trickling over and spurting through the dam there was now a glittering wall of icicles …

—C. S. Lewis

b

: shining with strong emotion

… after being misdirected almost consistently, she goes out in glory, with glittering eyes and a lewd smile.

—Pauline Kael

2

: brilliantly or showily impressive : dazzling

a glittering career

… the company today caters a glittering array of premiere social and corporate galas, from Poughkeepsie to Palm Beach.

—Robert Masello

also : superficially attractive or exciting

… they left behind the glittering social life of Orlando …

—Douglas Frantz et al.

glitteringly

ˈgli-tə-riŋ-lē 

adverb

His libretto is very bare, a skeleton of short, clear phrases on to which he has grafted slivers of music glitteringly alive thanks to his fine ear for sound.

—Richard Fairman

Examples of glittering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His black-tie ensembles and glittering gowns often stole the spotlight on red carpets during awards season, cementing his place as a versatile designer. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 4 Sep. 2025

But beneath the glittering headlines lies the uncomfortable truth: the advertised jackpot is not the real prize, the odds are stacked against players, and the system relies heavily on the very people most vulnerable to financial strain. —Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Before the video teaser dropped, the guest announcement for this week's episode of New Heights featured Swift's silhouette between a screenshot of the brothers, featuring a glittering orange background with mint green lettering matching the countdown on the website. —Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025

In the early 1960s, Sylvia Plath’s poetry dug into the dark, glittering heart of maternity. —Alice Vincent, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for glittering

• littering
• skittering
• twittering