Meanings
present singular third person glistens · participle present glistening · participle past glistened · past glistened
- intransitiveTo reflect light with a glittering luster; to sparkle, coruscate, glint or flash.
The sun was fierce, the land seemed to glisten and drip with steam.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 202Synonyms: coruscate, flash, gleam, glitter, luster, sheen, shimmer, shine
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo reflect light with a glittering luster; to sparkle, coruscate, glint or flash.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe quality of shining with a bright reflected light
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*glisnōną
- Proto-West Germanic*glisnōn
- Old Englishglisnian
- Middle Englishglisnen
- Englishglisten
From Middle English glisnen, glistnen, from Old English glisnian, itself from Proto-West Germanic *glisnōn, while ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic *glisnōną.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek στίλβω, μαρμαίρω
- στίλβω (stílbō)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- μαρμαίρω (marmaírō)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Arabic لَمَعَ
- لَمَعَ (lamaʕa)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Bulgarian лъщя, блестя
- лъщя (lăštja)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- блестя (blestja)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- блясък (bljasăk)glistening shine
Chinese Mandarin 輝耀 /辉耀, 閃光 /闪光
- 輝耀 /辉耀 (huīyào)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- 閃光 /闪光 (shǎnguāng)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- 閃耀 /闪耀 (shǎnyào)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Danish glinse
- glinseto reflect light with a glittering luster
Esperanto fulmeti, malseke rebrili
- fulmetito reflect light with a glittering luster
- malseke rebrilito reflect light with a glittering luster
Estonian helkima
- helkimato reflect light with a glittering luster
Finnish kimmeltää, kimaltaa
- kimmeltääto reflect light with a glittering luster
- kimaltaato reflect light with a glittering luster
- kimallellato reflect light with a glittering luster
- kimmellysglistening shine
- kimallusglistening shine
French reluire
- reluireto reflect light with a glittering luster
German glitzern, glänzen
- glitzernto reflect light with a glittering luster
- glänzento reflect light with a glittering luster
- gleißento reflect light with a glittering luster
Greek λάμπω
- λάμπω (lámpo)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Hawaiian ʻōlinolino
- ʻōlinolinoto reflect light with a glittering luster
Hindi चमकना
- चमकना (camaknā)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Hungarian csillog
- csillogto reflect light with a glittering luster
Irish glioscarnach
- glioscarnachglistening shine
Italian luccicare
- luccicareto reflect light with a glittering luster
Japanese 光る, 輝く
- 光る (hikaru)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- 輝く (kagayaku)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Latin fulgeō, niteō
- fulgeōto reflect light with a glittering luster
- niteōto reflect light with a glittering luster
Māori whakaira, kanapa
- whakairato reflect light with a glittering luster
- kanapato reflect light with a glittering luster
- wherikoto reflect light with a glittering luster
- korakorato reflect light with a glittering luster
- kōrataratato reflect light with a glittering luster
Persian برق زدن
- برق زدن (barq zadan)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Polish błyszczeć
- błyszczećto reflect light with a glittering luster
Portuguese reluzir
- reluzirto reflect light with a glittering luster
Russian блесте́ть, блесну́ть
- блесте́ть (blestétʹ)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- блесну́ть (blesnútʹ)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- сверка́ть (sverkátʹ)to reflect light with a glittering luster
- сверкну́ть (sverknútʹ)to reflect light with a glittering luster
Spanish relucir, rielar
- relucirto reflect light with a glittering luster
- rielarto reflect light with a glittering luster
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with glisten
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
glisten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisten
“glisten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisten. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “glisten,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisten.
Source: glisten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.