glittering
/ˈɡlɪtəɹɪŋ/
glittering is the present participle and gerund of glitter.
Adjective
glittering (comparative more glittering, superlative most glittering)
- Brightly sparkling.
- [T]he fair star / That gems the glittering coronet of morn, / Sheds not a light so mild, so powerful, / As that which, bursting from the Fairy's form, / Spread a purpureal halo round the scene, / Yet with an undulating motion, / Swayed to her outline gracefully.1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Canto I”, in Queen Mab; […], London: […] P. B. Shelley, […], →OCLC, page 6
- It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue; motor, brougham, and victoria swept by on the glittering current; pretty women glanced out from limousine and tonneau; young men of his own type, silk-hatted, frock-coated, the crooks of their walking sticks tucked up under their left arms, passed on the Park...1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “His Own People”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 6
- Valuable, desirable.
- Gaur was an example of a man without a BA who seemed infinitely better educated than the fellows who left Fort Hare with glittering degrees.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 85
- There are some glittering stats out there regarding Brassey: namely that he'd built around one-third of Britain's railways by the time he was in his early 40s, and that by the time of his death (aged 65) he was responsible for around one-twentieth of the world's railways.2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chester (1848)”, in Rail, number 947, page 57
Meaning of glitter
Verb
glitter (third-person singular simple present glitters, present participle glittering, simple past and past participle glittered)
- To sparkle with light; to shine with a brilliant and broken light or showy luster; to gleam.
- a glittering sword
- To be showy, specious, or striking, and hence attractive.
- the glittering scenes of a court
Noun
glittering (plural glitterings)
- The appearance of something that glitters.
- Every man carries about him a touchstone, if he will make use of it, to distinguish substantial gold from superficial glitterings, truth from appearances.a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC
Synonyms of glittering
Forms of glittering
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more glittering |
| superlative | most glittering |
| Noun | |
| plural | glitterings |
Words formed from glittering
Phrases with glittering
Questions about glittering
- What does glittering mean?
- Glittering means brightly sparkling.
- What is glittering the present participle and gerund of?
- Glittering is the present participle and gerund of glitter.
- What part of speech is glittering?
- Glittering can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce glittering?
- Glittering is pronounced /ˈɡlɪtəɹɪŋ/.
Words near glittering in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: glittering (page history and authors); glitter (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-glittering.ogg.
Cite this entry: “glittering.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/glittering. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.