What's the difference between glisten and glitter?

Glisten


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To sparkle or shine; especially, to shine with a mild, subdued, and fitful luster; to emit a soft, scintillating light; to gleam; as, the glistening stars.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) McArdle – who plays Abrahams, the Jewish runner who sees proving himself on the track as a way of combatting antisemitism – is glistening with sweat.
  • (2) I found the new hope in my heart," he said, eyes glistening with tears.
  • (3) Somewhere, glistening in the ashes, there might remain a copy of Jane Eyre.
  • (4) I opened my eyes to see the pristine beach glistening in the clean dawn air.
  • (5) Bake for a further 10-15 minutes until well browned and glistening.
  • (6) I sat there, bundled up against the cold, on benches carved from ice, with glistening icy walls and snow flurries falling through ventilation holes, while a folk band played glowing instruments – carved out of ice.
  • (7) This he achieves by rearranging her intestines, picking through them and, somewhere among the glistening loops, cutting a section in two and rerouting the ends.
  • (8) Fuchsin glistening colonies as well as the total bacterial counts on Sabouraud agar and Leifson agar as well as on kanamycin-esculin agar showed frequency peaks which were one power of ten lower.
  • (9) Marks & Spencer is offering fruit juice laced with glitter and smoked salmon topped with gold leaf; Sainsbury will be selling edible glistening Christmas baubles made from chocolate; while Asda is offering a glitter-topped version of the traditional pudding.
  • (10) These buttery potato scones glisten on my plate like Grecian tiles.
  • (11) The examination of the fundus showed dense, glistening bright yellow crystalline deposits around the maculae.
  • (12) Necropsy findings included generalized edema of the visceral organs and diffuse red glistening foci on the capsular and cut surfaces of the cortex of both kidneys.
  • (13) The overwhelming impression is one of tasteful reserve, of glistening cream paint and shining green and black railings – until you pause to examine the enormous heft of the houses: vast, detached palaces, with too many windows to count, on a scale dwarfing other private homes in London .
  • (14) Both lesions were surgically excised and found to be cystic in nature and filled with glistening gelatinous material consistent with partially absorbed, encysted gelatin film (Gelfilm).
  • (15) After Tony and his shiny head did the dirty with Tracy Barlow, the goddess of pure evil, Liz went straight into a rebound fling with Dan, a man so slimy he glistens.
  • (16) In my place I'm fine, but if I use my glistening podium, to talk to the people I grew up with, or signed on with or used drugs with, vulnerable overlooked, underserved, ordinary people, people that can't sue them as I am, then out come the fangs.
  • (17) The typical chondrosarcoma is low in grade but malignant and it arises in the nasal cavity as a large, pale, glistening mass.
  • (18) As the plane came into land in Seattle over the glistening waters of the Puget Sound, after a long journey from Iraq, he only had one thought: “Now we’ll be safe.
  • (19) More than 180 miles west of Barclays Bank's glistening skyscraper in the heart of Canary Wharf, a small group of tax protesters will gather outside one of its lesser-known branches.
  • (20) The disease was characterized by juvenile degeneration of the vitreous with detachment of the vitreous body and some floating vitreous opacities, cystoid degeneration of the peripheral retina with whitish glistening stippled areas of superficial retinal degeneration, spotty hyperpigmentation, patches of retinal atrophy with pigmentations, occasional atrophic retinal holes, and in four family members at the age of 4 to 12 years, unilateral or bilateral retinal detachment with breaks in the peripheral retina.

Glitter


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To sparkle with light; to shine with a brilliant and broken light or showy luster; to gleam; as, a glittering sword.
  • (v. i.) To be showy, specious, or striking, and hence attractive; as, the glittering scenes of a court.
  • (n.) A bright, sparkling light; brilliant and showy luster; brilliancy; as, the glitter of arms; the glitter of royal equipage.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Her story is an incredible tale of triumph over tragedy: a tormented childhood during China's Cultural Revolution, detention and forced exile after exposing female infanticide – then glittering success as the head of a major US technology firm.
  • (2) In the course of a study on glioblastoma tissue and cultured cell lines, a glitter drop technique for random sampling was introduced (1).
  • (3) Browne had enjoyed a glittering career at BP, which he joined in 1966 and took over as chief executive in 1995.
  • (4) Thank God, then, for The Execution Of Gary Glitter (Mon, 9pm, Channel 4), which vividly envisions the trial and subsequent capital punishment of pop's most reviled sex offender so you don't have to.
  • (5) Last weekend, one of the most glittering alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur did not show up to give a school prize as he had promised.
  • (6) Thirty years at the glittering coalface of alternative rock has finally provided security for Shields ("I've been OK for money since about 2008"), but has taken its toll spiritually and bodily.
  • (7) At least the joyous delirium gave Drogba and, most likely, Petr Cech fitting sendoffs after glittering careers in these parts.
  • (8) He’d been at the Baftas the previous evening, and still had his glitter on.
  • (9) The broadcaster, which has previously used the mockumentary genre to put Tony Blair on trial and execute Gary Glitter , will use actors alongside real-life footage for its fictional portrayal of the Ukip leader in Downing Street.
  • (10) Already known internationally for its food and its glittering annual film festival, the city will feature choral groups in the open air and an art project, Waves of Energy, bringing to life a surge of ideas suggested by the public, as well as performances and exhibitions inside sleek venues such as Basque music’s new home, Musikene, the San Telmo museum or the cube-shaped Kursaal on the edge of the sea.
  • (11) They lack the killer ambition, that willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice, and that’s the real reason so many glittering male careers so end in failure.
  • (12) This arena was the scene of Bayern nightmares last May, when Chelsea pipped them to Europe's most glittering crown and, suddenly, the demons of the past threatened to encircle them.
  • (13) It was launched on Wednesday with a party at the Mandarin Oriental hotel next door – an event so glittering that Formula One overlord Bernie Ecclestone was in attendance and überchef Heston Blumenthal did the catering.
  • (14) He loved the excitement and the glitter of his post, but could never really accept the hours of drudgery and tedium that the job of Liberal leader involved.
  • (15) Iran, which was a Zoroastrian country before Islam arrived, is home to some of the world’s most magnificent historical and archaeological sites with ancient ruins, glittering mosques and spectacular landscapes.
  • (16) No longer content to hide beneath the shadow of the Andes, it now has a number of vibrant cultural centres (such as the striking, copper-encased GAM , which specialises in promoting the performing arts and music), glittering skyscrapers, award-winning restaurants and fantastic bars.
  • (17) Yvonne Robertson, who had travelled from Glasgow with her district lodge, spoke of "an absolutely amazing day" as her red, white and blue glitter headband sparkled in the sunshine.
  • (18) And some of the more massive trends heading into the future – the inexorables of population growth and global warming, emergent economies and regions with their own claims to truth and justice – would seem largely resistant to the glittering technical fixes that future-types of the past have put their faith in.
  • (19) Mariah Carey – Glitter (2001) Mariah Carey Glitter is no turkey – it's sold somewhere north of 3m copies.
  • (20) If only the prize itself could get away from its asinine "glittering occasion" presentation, it might yet be taken as seriously as it deserves to be - at least when it is awarded to projects like Accordia, a scheme that promises to transcend fads and fashion.