glitter

1 of 2

verb

glit·ter ˈgli-tər

glittered; glittering; glitters

intransitive verb

: to shine by reflection with many small flashes of brilliant light : sparkle

sequins glittered in the spotlight

: to shine with strong emotion : flash

eyes glittering in anger

: to be brilliantly attractive, lavish, or spectacular

also : to be superficially attractive or exciting

glitter

2 of 2

noun

: sparkling brilliance of something that glitters

: a bright usually superficial attractiveness

: the quality of being spectacular

: small glittering objects used for ornamentation

glittery

ˈgli-tə-rē

adjective

Choose the Right Synonym for glitter

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

Example Sentences

Verb The sequins on her dress glittered in the sun. Her eyes glittered with intelligence and amusement. Noun He was drawn to the glitter of the city's nightlife.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

From candy canes to glitter, ornaments to snowflakes, this list of impressive manicures has it all.

Marielle Marlys, Good Housekeeping, 3 Nov. 2022 While Season 1 featured faces adorned with endless rhinestones, glitter and more, Davy notes that Season 2 stepped into a quieter (but equally-stunning) approach.

Wyatte Grantham-philips, Variety, 27 Feb. 2022 Needless to say, brace yourselves for plenty of holiday cheer, from ribbon laced nails to glitter French tips.

Michella Oré, Glamour, 23 Sep. 2021 According to Rachel, her son also sold small crafts — from little firecrackers to glitter bombs — from a table at a local store to raise the money for his tree house, and now, his vision has fully come to life.

Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 19 Aug. 2021 How does one differentiate among all the offers that literally glitter?!

Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 26 May 2021 And the window display on Fifth Avenue will glitter with all-new jewels by David Yurman.

Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 30 Apr. 2021 Beyond these stars glitter other worlds, beyond this trial other tribulations of love.

Usman T. Malik, Wired, 11 Dec. 2020 Fragments of Htet’s product often glitter on their fingers.

Paul Salopek, History & Culture, 4 Dec. 2020

Noun

This set comes with a half-dozen 9.6-inch-tall flameless candles, accented with silver glitter.

Rachel Klein, Popular Mechanics, 21 Nov. 2022 What makes the magnet gel different from an ordinary gel with glitter?

Megan Decker, refinery29.com, 20 Nov. 2022 One pair has a jersey stripe of holes dribbled with glitter and the Lou Dallas earth logo poking out.

Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 7 Nov. 2022 Brittany also shared a photo of her hair and makeup on her Story as well, of her face dotted with pearls and sparkling with glitter.

Amanda Taylor, Peoplemag, 29 Oct. 2022 Bubbles were being blown, the Stable’s block party was in full swing, rainbow flags were waiving and some stopped to add more glitter to their faces.

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2022 Add the glitter and voilà — a mother’s worst nightmare!

Jessica Saggio | Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, 24 Jan. 2021 This scene uses faux snow and glitter to create a fairy house for the elf.

Corinne Sullivan, Good Housekeeping, 11 Nov. 2022 For the unfamiliar: Every year, Santa sends The Elf on the Shelf to scout children's houses and keep tabs on their Christmas season behavior, often leaving a trail of marshmallows and glitter in their wake.

Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 11 Nov. 2022 See More

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