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shiny

adjective · noun

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

shynee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʃaɪni

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Reflecting light.

  2. Emitting light.

  3. colloquial

    Excellent; remarkable.

noun

  1. informal

    Anything that glitters; a trinket.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Having a shiny surface or coating

shiny surfaceshiny metalshiny silver

Bright

shiny blue

Other combinations

shiny redshiny greenshiny brownshiny hair

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • bright

    Emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts.

  • lustrous

    As if shining with a brilliant light.

  • glassy

    Of or like glass, especially in being smooth and somewhat reflective.

  • glossy

    Having a smooth, silklike, reflective (shiny) surface.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • shinernounPerson or profession · specialist

    A swollen bruise caused by a blow to the eye.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • shiny lyonianounCompound term

    Showy evergreen shrub of southeastern United States with shiny leaves and angled branches and clusters of pink to reddish flowers that resemble an umbel.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • shiningnounRelated term

    The work of making something smooth and shiny by rubbing or waxing it.

  • shining willownounRelated term

    Common North American shrub with shiny lanceolate leaves.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: reflecting light

brightshining

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.