Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers


Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 04-Aug-2004, 06:18
Joe Joe is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Country: Where everything is all "people's"
Posts: 229
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Joe
Default gleam / glimmer / glint / glisten / glitter

gleam/glimmer/glint/glisten/glitter
Dear Teachers, I'd say that these words really drive me crazy. :mad: From the explanations in the dictionary, I see no differences. But I don't think they are interchangable--there must be some differences. As a native speaker, from your own experience of using English, what difference do you think is important for learners to remember? Thanks a lot! :)
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 04-Aug-2004, 10:28
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,370
Thanks: 0
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Francois is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

gleam: constant and steady light, in the surrounding darkness, reflected or not. Close to 'glow'. Eg.
The lights of the car gleamed in the distance.
The lighthouse gleamed through the clouds.
He wore expensive, gleaming shoes.
The moonlight gleamed on the quiet lake.

glimmer: feeble, steady light, dimmed as though there were some sort of veil or something. Does not work for reflected lights. Eg.
The lights of the house glimmered through the fog.
I saw a glimmering light at the end of the tunnel.

glint: momentary light reflected from metal or glass. Eg.
The sunlight glinted on the scope of the rookie sniper's rifle.
The light glinted on his wristwatch.

glisten: reflected light, on water, moisture etc. Eg.
The face of the poker player was glistening with sweat.
Her eyes glistened with tears.

glitter: light reflected on metal. Eg.
The assassin's knife glittered just before he stroke.
The eyes of the beast glittered as it prepared itself to jump on its prey.

FRC
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 12:52.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0 RC5
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com