Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To shine by reflection with a sparkling luster: synonym: flash.
  • intransitive verb To be reflected with a sparkling luster.
  • noun A sparkling, lustrous shine.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To shine gleamingly; sparkle with light; especially, to shine with a scintillating or twinkling light: as, glistening snow; the glistening stars; his face glistened with pleasure.
  • Synonyms Glister, Glitter, etc. See glare, intransitive verb
  • noun Glitter; sparkle; gleam.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To sparkle or shine; especially, to shine with a mild, subdued, and fitful luster; to emit a soft, scintillating light; to gleam.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to reflect light with a glittering luster; to sparkle, coruscate, glint or flash
  • noun A glittering shine; a scintillation, sparkle or flash.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
  • verb be shiny, as if wet

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English glisnen, from Old English glisnian; see ghel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English glisnian.

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Examples

  • His eyes glisten from a web of wrinkles, and I can imagine an event for each line drawn: flying in Vietnam, coaching the Port Arthur Toreadors for fifteen years, losing a wife named Marguerite to encephalitis, losing his only child to the state of California.

    Between Here and the Yellow Sea 2004

  • His eyes glisten from a web of wrinkles, and I can imagine an event for each line drawn: flying in Vietnam, coaching the Port Arthur Toreadors for fifteen years, losing a wife named Marguerite to encephalitis, losing his only child to the state of California.

    Between Here and the Yellow Sea 2004

  • She recalled the glisten of the sunlight on the river, and the crimson of the hard maples stained by the first early frost, and she knew it was not the sunshine nor the tingle in the air nor the beautiful way in which Ned and Nick flew along stride for stride over the hard white road, but something else, something quite different, which had made her glad that Sunday morning.

    The Short Line War Merwin-Webster

  • I've got a shitload of paperwork to take care of between now and then, not to mention more laundry, packing, planning, and at some point, a shower, because I just got back from the gym and ew, I have dried "glisten" all over my body.

    Getting Ready for the Trip! barbylon 2005

  • I've got a shitload of paperwork to take care of between now and then, not to mention more laundry, packing, planning, and at some point, a shower, because I just got back from the gym and ew, I have dried "glisten" all over my body.

    Getting Ready for the Trip! barbylon 2005

  • In spite of the fact that he had been up all night, therefore, his eyes were bright with the mirror glisten which is the gift of long hours in the open air.

    Every Man for Himself Hopkins Moorhouse

  • I seen his eyes kind of glisten when I said this about him being touched.

    Somewhere in Red Gap Harry Leon Wilson 1903

  • I exclaimed, and tears, such as glisten in the eyes of childhood, gathered in mine.

    Ernest Linwood or, The Inner Life of the Author Caroline Lee Hentz 1828

  • The sun used to glisten off my thick black hair now it just shines...

    On Being Bald.... Doug Holder 2011

  • There should be no need to add oil or fat to help the vegetables glisten, but fresh parsley always enhances eye appeal.

    What to do with your garden haul 2011

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