glisten

/ˈglɪsn/

/ˈglɪsɪn/

Other forms: glistening; glistened; glistens

Glisten is a verb meaning that something looks shiny, like it's wet. Rocks on the beach glisten in the sun. And your sister’s prom dress, covered in sequins, no doubt will glisten under the disco ball.

The word glisten can also be used metaphorically. After you tossed and turned throughout the night, in the morning, you could see the perfect solution glisten right in front of you. As a noun, a glisten is a bright shine. When you are driving into the setting sun, the glisten of the sun on the hood of the car makes it hard to see.

Definitions of glisten

1. verb

   be shiny, as if wet
   “His eyes were glistening”

   synonyms: gleam, glint, glitter, shine

   types:

   spangle

   glitter as if covered with spangles

   shimmer

   give off a shimmering reflection, as of silk

   type of:

   appear, look, seem

   give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
2. noun

   the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
   synonyms: glister, glitter, scintillation, sparkle

   type of:

   brightness

   the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white