spark in someone's eyes

3 5.5

A bright look in someone's eyes showing excitement and strong interest

idiom

: brillo en los ojos

Anne still had that mischievous spark in her eyes, but it faded every day, faded and faded.

Examples

The children had a spark in their eyes when they unwrapped their birthday presents.
You could see the spark in her eyes as she spoke about her upcoming adventure.
His face lit up with a spark in his eyes when he heard the good news.

Synonyms

sparkle

vsspark in someone's eyes

24 2.1

A lively light in the eyes that shows excitement

is a lively eye expression but can also mean general merriment rather than focused interest

twinkle

vsspark in someone's eyes

19 2.2

A bright, playful look in someone's eyes that shows they find something funny

is livelier and shows deep excitement or keen interest rather than light amusement

spark

vsspark in someone's eyes

5 2.6

A bright look in a person's eyes that shows joy

is similar but stresses enthusiasm or strong interest rather than mere merriment

Antonyms

indifference

66 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

disinterest

9 5.8

Not feeling interested in something, like a talk or task

How Enthusiastic

sparkle

24 2.1

spark in someone's eyes

3 5.5

glimmer

45 5.0

Surface Forms

spark in someone's eyes singular

sparks in someone's eyes plural

Morphology

spark + in + someone's + eye

The meaning is directly inferable from combining 'spark' (a small flash or sign of liveliness) with the locative 'in' and 'eyes' to indicate a visible sign of excitement or enthusiasm. This metaphorical image is common and transparent across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely understand the phrase.

Etymology

Spark in someone's eyes comes from the simple image of a small spark or bright flash in a person's eyes when they feel excited or very interested. That's why the phrase means 'a lively or enthusiastic expression'.