Glossy Meaning
/ˈɡlɒsi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHaving a smooth, silklike, reflective (shiny) surface.
adjAttention-grabbing and superficially attractive.
Sentence Examples
This is the kind of gossip you usually find in a glossy magazine.
Skura had glossy red lips.
He covered the cake with a glossy chocolate glaze.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ photos in the album were so shiny I could see my reflection.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fashion magazine was printed on high-quality ____ paper that made the colors in the photos look very vibrant.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English gloss Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English glossy From gloss + -y.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The trendy rehabs being pimped by the addiction industry's glossy PR."
— 1990 February 4, Leonard Tirado, “Privatized 'Recovery' Versus Collective Action”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 19:
"This divisive populist electro may never shake its myriad detractors who cry foul about the glossy repackaging of the scene it’s largely indebted to, but it’s wrong to dismiss such meticulously crafted production because of its accessibility."
— 2015 December 25, “20 Best Albums of 2015”, in Genius:
"His roster of patients was drawn almost exclusively from among what he liked to call creative people, chiefly writers and painters and composers, and he talked about them so freely that I sometimes half expected him to put up autographed glossies around the office, like the ones on the wall at the Stage Deli."
— 1998 August 17, Adam Gopnik, “Man Goes To See a Doctor”, in The New Yorker:
"Black and white 8- × 10-inch glossies are best, but 5- × 7-inch is okay too. Place photos on top of cardboard when mailing. Don't tape or paper-clip because doing so can ruin the photo."
— 2013, Stacy Zemon, The DJ Sales and Marketing Handbook:
"Anna Magnani has been making Hollywood glossies recently, so it was good to see her back again in a native Italian production, The Last Temptation, in which with great artistry and all her usual power she played a Nun who finds a woman's and even a mother's heart beating strongly beneath her 'sister's' habit."
— 1959, Film Review, page 102:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ photos in the album were so shiny I could see my reflection.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fashion magazine was printed on high-quality ____ paper that made the colors in the photos look very vibrant.