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glen

glen

10 7.9
A narrow, quiet valley between hills or mountains
  • noun
  • /ɡlɛn/
: glen
  • At ten paces, the birch thicket gave way to a grassy glen, filled with shifting patches of shade and sunlight.
  • a wooded glen
  • a grassy glen
  • a quiet glen

Examples

  • In a wooded glen not far away, some wandering minstrels have set up camp.

  • Halfway down the glen, the dogs came loping up to greet them.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Somewhere in this glen, by this pool.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Now, we'll cut through to the glen a mile south.

  • The family has lived in this glen for centuries.

  • At the cottage in the glen.

  • Observing a holy silence, he led them back up the glen.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • While my parents were attending the celebration, I decided to go swimming in the lake beyond the glen.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Josephine assumed she'd find the shrine in a wooded glen down a private road.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The family has lived in this glen for centuries.

Synonyms

valley
vsglen
531 1.0

A low area of land between hills or mountains often with a river running through it

is narrower and more secluded usually in mountainous regions
dale
vsglen
3 8.2

A wide open valley between gentle hills

is narrower and secluded often in mountains rather than open hills

Compounds

A large dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona that forms Lake Powell

How Narrow

gorge
31 5.3
glen
10 7.9
valley
531 1.0

Surface Forms

glen singular
glens plural

Etymology

Glen comes from Scottish Gaelic gleann, which means 'valley'. So a glen is a narrow, quiet valley in the mountains, and that origin helps you picture a small, hidden valley surrounded by hills.