spark in someone's eyes

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

twinkle

vsspark in someone's eyes

31 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

14 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

sparkle

vsspark in someone's eyes

8 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

Antonyms

indifference

71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

disinterest

5 5.8

Not feeling interested in something, like a talk or task

How Enthusiastic

sparkle

8 2.1

spark in someone's eyes

5.5

glimmer

39 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'.