1. To shine with many small, bright flashes of light.
2. Tiny reflective pieces used to make a surface shine.
3. An impressive or glamorous appearance that may conceal a less attractive reality.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- glitter in the sunlight
- glittering eyes
On the page
Fragments of glass glittered across the pavement.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- glitter
- Past tense
- glittered
- Past participle
- glittered
- Present participle
- glittering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- glitter
- Present continuous
- am/is/are glittering
- Present perfect
- have/has glittered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been glittering
- Past
- glittered
- Past continuous
- was/were glittering
- Past perfect
- had glittered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been glittering
- Future
- will glitter
- Future continuous
- will be glittering
- Future perfect
- will have glittered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been glittering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: glitter; glitters; glittered; glittered; glittering. Noun use is uncountable.. Noun use is uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: glitters.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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