glis·ten

verb

/ˈɡlɪsn/

[intransitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they glisten	/ˈɡlɪsn/ /ˈɡlɪsn/
he / she / it glistens	/ˈɡlɪsnz/ /ˈɡlɪsnz/
past simple glistened	/ˈɡlɪsnd/ /ˈɡlɪsnd/
past participle glistened	/ˈɡlɪsnd/ /ˈɡlɪsnd/
-ing form glistening	/ˈɡlɪsnɪŋ/ /ˈɡlɪsnɪŋ/

Idioms

(of something wet) to shine闪光；闪亮
- Her eyes were glistening with tears.她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
- Sweat glistened on his forehead.他额头上的汗珠晶莹发亮。
- + adj. The road glistened wet after the rain.雨后的道路润泽闪亮。
Synonyms shine
shinegleam ▪ glow ▪ sparkle ▪ glisten ▪ shimmer ▪ glitter ▪ twinkle ▪ glintThese words all mean to produce or reflect light.
shine to produce or reflect light, especially brightly:
The sun was shining and the sky was blue.阳光灿烂，天空一片蓝。
gleam to shine with a clear bright or pale light, especially a reflected light:
Moonlight gleamed on the water.月光照在水面上泛起粼粼波光。
glow (often of something hot or warm) to produce a steady light that is not very bright:
The end of his cigarette glowed red.他的烟头发着微弱的红光。
sparkle to shine brightly with small flashes of light:
The diamonds sparkled in the light.钻石在灯光下闪闪发亮。
glisten (of something wet) to shine:
The road glistened wet after the rain.雨后的道路润泽闪亮。
shimmer to shine with a soft light that seems to shake slightly:
Everything seemed to shimmer in the heat.在高温下所有的东西都好像在闪光。
glitter to shine brightly with small flashes of reflected light:
The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold.大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。
sparkle or glitter?There is very little difference in meaning between these two words. Glitter can sometimes suggest a lack of depth, but this is more frequent in the figurative use of glitter as a noun: the superficial glitter of show business. Sparkle is also often used to talk about light reflected off a surface, but things that produce light can also sparkle: Stars sparkled in the sky.
twinkle to shine with a light that changes rapidly from bright to faint to bright again:
Stars twinkled in the sky.星星在天空中闪烁。
glint to give small bright flashes of reflected light:
The blade of the knife glinted in the darkness.刀刃在黑暗中亮了亮。
Patterns
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint on something
- to shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/twinkle/glint with something
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the sunlight
- to shine/gleam/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the moonlight
- the stars shine/sparkle/glitter/twinkle
- somebody’s eyes shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/glitter/twinkle/glint
- to shine/gleam/glow/glitter brightly
- to shine/gleam/glow/shimmer softly
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Glisten is used with these nouns as the subject:
dew
eye
hair
…
Word OriginOld English glisnian, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Low German glisen. The noun dates from the mid 19th cent.

Idioms

all that glitters/glistens/glisters is not gold

(saying) not everything that seems good, attractive, etc. is actually good, etc.闪闪发光的未必都是金子；中看未必中用