glittering

adjective

glit·ter·ing ˈgli-tə-riŋ

: 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

: shining with strong emotion

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

Pauline Kael

: 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

Word History

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of glittering was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Glittering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glittering. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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glittering

adjective

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near glittering

Cite this Entry