gleam

CEFRC1

/ɡliːm/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small, bright flash or shine.

  2. 02

    verb

    To shine softly or briefly.

Examples

  • The lady looked quickly up, with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.

  • We saw the gleam of a distant lighthouse.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ɡlim/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A bright, but intermittent or short-lived, appearance of something.

  2. An indistinct sign of something; a glimpse or hint.

  3. An appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived.

More examples

In context

  • The rescue workers preserved a gleam of optimism that the trapped miners might still survive.

  • Is not yon gleame, the ſhuddering morne that flakes, / VVith ſiluer tinctur, the eaſt vierge of heauen?

  • Quick to redeem the Prey their plighted Lords / Advance, the Palace gleams vvith ſhining Svvords.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The polished floor will blank under the bright lights of the room.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English glem, gleam, gleme (“shaft of light; part of a comet’s tail; reflected sparkle; dawn; daylight; radiance (physical or spiritual); something fleeting”), from Old English glǣm (“gleam”), from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz (“brightness; splendour”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Cognates * German Low German Gleem (“shine, luster, gloss”) * Faroese glæma (“gleam, glimmer”) * Old High German glīmen (“to glow, shine”); gleimo, glīmo (“glowworm”) (Middle High German glīme, gleime) * Old Saxon glīmo (“brightness”)