glittering

adjective

glit·​ter·​ing ˈgli-tə-riŋ 

1

a

: shining with many bright points of light

Every few days a little glittering aeroplane appeared in the sky among the clouds and the circling hawks.

—Doris Lessing

And where the water had been trickling over and spurting through the dam there was now a glittering wall of icicles …

—C. S. Lewis

b

: shining with strong emotion

… after being misdirected almost consistently, she goes out in glory, with glittering eyes and a lewd smile.

—Pauline Kael

2

: brilliantly or showily impressive : dazzling

a glittering career

… the company today caters a glittering array of premiere social and corporate galas, from Poughkeepsie to Palm Beach.

—Robert Masello

also : superficially attractive or exciting

… they left behind the glittering social life of Orlando …

—Douglas Frantz et al.

glitteringly

ˈgli-tə-riŋ-lē 

adverb

His libretto is very bare, a skeleton of short, clear phrases on to which he has grafted slivers of music glitteringly alive thanks to his fine ear for sound.

—Richard Fairman

Examples of glittering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The spaniel, adorned with a glittering crown, was filmed comfortably seated at the table, clearly part of the community and cherished by all. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Family members picked out a glittering purple casket − the same color as her Jeep − and a handful of relatives met at the local cemetery. —Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024

Her private life is equally glittering and to prove it, she’s booked a luxurious anniversary celebration in Italy with her husband, Adrian. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Oct. 2024

The Barbie also dons traditional Indian accessories of golden bangles, glittering earrings and a bindi. —Kanika Talwar, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a