gleam
a flash or beam of light: the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
a dim or subdued light.
a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace: a gleam of hope.
to send forth a gleam or gleams.
to appear suddenly and clearly like a flash of light.
Origin of gleam
1synonym study For gleam
Other words for gleam
Other words from gleam
- gleam·less, adjective
- out·gleam, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gleam in a sentence
So the clouded day broke sullenly, with gusts of warm rain and red gleams of a sun striving to disperse the mists.
The Red Year | Louis TracyScattergood looked into her sharp, old eyes, eyes that were capable of sudden gleams of humor or flashes of anger, and he knew.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington KellandTheir memory gradually grew clearer, not by interrupted gleams, but rather as the light grows stronger from the beginning of dawn.
Urania | Camille FlammarionIt was during one of these gleams that he spent the evening at the rendezvous of what Josephine styled the "Dana clique."
Alone | Marion HarlandIn one or two of them there is an improvement on this very primitive verse, gleams of humor and ebullitions of vigorous spirit.
Studies in Folk-Song and Popular Poetry | Alfred M. Williams
British Dictionary definitions for gleam
/ (ɡliːm) /
a small beam or glow of light, esp reflected light
a brief or dim indication: a gleam of hope
to send forth or reflect a beam of light
to appear, esp briefly: intelligence gleamed in his eyes
Origin of gleam
1Derived forms of gleam
- gleaming, adjective
- gleamy, adjective
- gleamingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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