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Glite Dictionary
to glisten

to glisten

49 4.1
Shine with a soft light, like when wet or polished
  • verb
  • /ˈɡlɪsən/
translation icon : brillar
  • At the north end of the valley, a body of water glistened in the slanting light.
  • glistening in the sun
  • glistening hair
  • glistening white

Sometimes you see a little star glisten, you see a little shine from one of these there.

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Examples

  • One can see beads of water glistening on my taut stomach.

    Watch Out (2008)

  • Sometimes you see a little star glisten, you see a little shine from one of these there.

    Theo Von

  • His skin glistening in the sun.

    Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

  • The sun glistens through my blinds.

  • There was no vegetation growing on the mound, and its distinctive white sand glistened in the sunlight.

    Academic text (2009)

  • " Jen admired the way the torchlight glistened on Director Mugabe's brow, his tight-coiled hair.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The morning dew caused the grass to glisten under the rising sun.

  • Her eyes seemed to glisten with excitement when she heard the good news.

  • After the rain, the leaves glisten with droplets of water.

Synonyms

to shine
vsto glisten
428 1.0

To send out or reflect light and look bright

is more specific, meaning a soft reflected wet or polished gloss
to gleam
vsto glisten
70 1.9

To shine softly, often on a smooth or wet surface

is the same idea but implies a wet or polished surface
to glitter
vsto glisten
52 1.3

To shine with many small bright points of light on something

is softer and suggests a smooth wet reflection rather than sparkles
to shimmer
vsto glisten
51 4.3

To shine with a soft, slightly moving light

is steadier and more like a wet or polished shine
to sparkle
vsto glisten
26 1.0

To shine with small bright flashes of light

gives a softer continuous reflected light rather than flashes
to glint
vsto glisten
19 3.9

To shine briefly with a small flash as light bounces off something

is steadier and softer rather than a quick flash
to glimmer
vsto glisten
12 3.9

To shine with a weak, unsteady light

is brighter and more like a wet or polished sheen
to catch the light
vsto glisten
4 4.0

Shine or sparkle when light hits them

reflects light more evenly, showing a soft wet or polished glow
to sheen
vsto glisten
1 4.0

To have a soft, smooth bright appearance

is the same but suggests a wet or polished reflection
to glister
vsto glisten
  • Archaic
1 8.8

To shine with small bright flashes

is less sparkly and more uniform wet or polished shine

How Shiny

to sparkle
26 1.0
to gleam
70 1.9
to glisten
49 4.1
to glow
161 1.2
to glimmer
12 3.9

Surface Forms

glisten infinitive
glistened past
glistened past participle
glistening present participle
glistens third person singular

Morphology

glisten = glist + en

The verb is formed with the productive suffix '-en' (meaning 'become/make'), but the root 'glist' is not a common standalone modern English word, so learners may not readily infer the meaning from its parts.

Etymology

Glisten comes from an old English root glisn- meaning 'to shine', and it makes you picture small, soft lights on a wet or smooth surface. A helpful way to remember it is to think of glitter or glow on wet grass or a polished car, because to glisten is to shine softly with reflected light.