Adjacent Words

Glance definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GL`ANCE, n. [The primary sense is to shoot, to throw, to dart.]
1. A sudden shoot of light or splendor.
2. A shoot or darting of sight; a rapid or momentary view or cast; a snatch of sight; as a sudden glance; a glance of the eye.
GL`ANCE, v.i. To shoot or dart a ray of light or splendor.
When through the gloom the glancing lightnings fly.
1. To fly off in an oblique direction; to dart aside. The arrow struck the shield and glanced. So we say, a glancing ball or shot.
2. To look with a sudden rapid cast of the eye; to snatch a momentary or hasty view.
Then sit again, and sigh and glance.
3. To hint; to cast a word or reflection; as to glance at a different subject.
4. To censure by oblique hints.
GL`ANCE, v.t. To shoot or dart suddenly or obliquely; to cast for a moment; as, to glance the eye.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a quick look [syn: glance, glimpse, coup d'oeil] v
1: throw a glance at; take a brief look at; "She only glanced at the paper"; "I only peeked--I didn't see anything interesting" [syn: glance, peek, glint]
2: hit at an angle

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (glanced; glancing) Etymology: Middle English glencen, glenchen Date: 15th century intransitive verb 1. to strike a surface obliquely so as to go off at an angle <the bullet glanced off the wall> 2. a. to make sudden quick movements <dragonflies glancing over the pond> b. to flash or gleam with quick intermittent rays of light <brooks glancing in the sun> 3. to touch on a subject or refer to it briefly or indirectly <the work glances at the customs of ancient cultures> 4. a. of the eyes to move swiftly from one thing to another b. to take a quick look at something <glanced at his watch> transitive verb 1. archaic a. to take a quick look at b. to catch a glimpse of 2. to give an oblique path of direction to: a. to throw or shoot so that the object glances from a surface b. archaic to aim (as an innuendo) indirectly ; insinuate • glancer noun II. noun Date: 1503 1. a. a quick intermittent flash or gleam b. archaic a sudden quick movement 2. a. archaic a rapid oblique movement b. a deflected impact or blow 3. a. a swift movement of the eyes b. a quick or cursory look 4. archaic a. a brief satirical reference to something ; gibe b. allusion

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by down, up, etc.) cast a momentary look (glanced up at the sky). 2 intr. (often foll. by off) (esp. of a weapon) glide or bounce (off an object). 3 intr. (usu. foll. by over, off, from) (of talk or a talker) pass quickly over a subject or subjects (glanced over the question of payment). 4 intr. (of a bright object or light) flash, dart, or gleam; reflect (the sun glanced off the knife). 5 tr. (esp. of a weapon) strike (an object) obliquely. 6 tr. Cricket deflect (the ball) with an oblique stroke. --n. 1 (usu. foll. by at, into, over, etc.) a brief look (took a glance at the paper; threw a glance over her shoulder). 2 a a flash or gleam (a glance of sunlight). b a sudden movement producing this. 3 a swift oblique movement or impact. 4 Cricket a stroke with the bat's face turned slantwise to deflect the ball. Phrases and idioms: at a glance immediately upon looking. glance at 1 give a brief look at. 2 make a passing and usu. sarcastic allusion to. glance one's eye (foll. by at, over, etc.) look at briefly (esp. a document). glance over (or through) read cursorily. Derivatives: glancingly adv. Etymology: ME glence etc., prob. a nasalized form of obs. glace in the same sense, f. OF glacier to slip: see GLACIS 2. n. any lustrous sulphide ore (copper glance; lead glance). Etymology: G Glanz lustre

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Glance Glance, v. t. 1. To shoot or dart suddenly or obliquely; to cast for a moment; as, to glance the eye. 2. To hint at; to touch lightly or briefly. [Obs.] In company I often glanced it. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Glance Glance, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Glanced; p. pr. & vb. n. Glancing.] 1. To shoot or emit a flash of light; to shine; to flash. From art, from nature, from the schools, Let random influences glance, Like light in many a shivered lance, That breaks about the dappled pools. --Tennyson. 2. To strike and fly off in an oblique direction; to dart aside. ''Your arrow hath glanced''. --Shak. On me the curse aslope Glanced on the ground. --Milton. 3. To look with a sudden, rapid cast of the eye; to snatch a momentary or hasty view. The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. --Shak. 4. To make an incidental or passing reflection; to allude; to hint; -- often with at. Wherein obscurely C[ae]sar"s ambition shall be glanced at. --Shak. He glanced at a certain reverend doctor. --Swift. 5. To move quickly, appearing and disappearing rapidly; to be visible only for an instant at a time; to move interruptedly; to twinkle. And all along the forum and up the sacred seat, His vulture eye pursued the trip of those small glancing feet. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Glance Glance, n. [Akin to D. glans luster, brightness, G. glanz, Sw. glans, D. glands brightness, glimpse. Cf. Gleen, Glint, Glitter, and Glance a mineral.] 1. A sudden flash of light or splendor. Swift as the lightning glance. --Milton. 2. A quick cast of the eyes; a quick or a casual look; a swift survey; a glimpse. Dart not scornful glances from those eyes. --Shak. 3. An incidental or passing thought or allusion. How fleet is a glance of the mind. --Cowper. 4. (Min.) A name given to some sulphides, mostly dark-colored, which have a brilliant metallic luster, as the sulphide of copper, called copper glance. Glance coal, anthracite; a mineral composed chiefly of carbon. Glance cobalt, cobaltite, or gray cobalt. Glance copper, chalcocite. Glance wood, a hard wood grown in Cuba, and used for gauging instruments, carpenters' rules, etc. --McElrath.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(glances, glancing, glanced) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you glance at something or someone, you look at them very quickly and then look away again immediately. He glanced at his watch... I glanced back. VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv 2. If you glance through or at a newspaper, report, or book, you spend a short time looking at it without reading it very carefully. I picked up the phone book and glanced through it... I never even glanced at the political page of a daily paper. VERB: V through/at n, V through/at n 3. A glance is a quick look at someone or something. Trevor and I exchanged a glance. N-COUNT 4. If you see something at a glance, you see or recognize it immediately, and without having to think or look carefully. One could tell at a glance that she was a compassionate person. PHRASE 5. If you say that something is true or seems to be true at first glance, you mean that it seems to be true when you first see it or think about it, but that your first impression may be wrong. At first glance, organic farming looks much more expensive for the farmer. PHRASE: PHR with cl 6. If you steal a glance at someone or something, you look at them quickly so that nobody sees you looking. He stole a glance at the clock behind her. PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR at n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Glitter, gleam. 2. Glimpse, transitory view, rapid look. II. v. n. 1. Glitter, gleam, shine, flash, coruscate, scintillate, glisten, glister. 2. Flit, dart, appear and disappear. 3. Dart aside, fly off obliquely. 4. Snatch a glance, snatch a momentary look, look hurriedly. 5. Make passing allusion, reflect upon, hint at, censure.

Moby Thesaurus

Roman candle, aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, attouchement, avert, balefire, be bright, beacon, beacon fire, beam, bear off, beat the drum, bedazzle, bell, bell buoy, blaze, blaze of light, blind, blink, blinker, blue peter, bounce, breath, brush, brush by, buff, buoy, burn, burnish, careen, caress, carom, cast, cast a glance, caution light, come in contact, contact, contingence, coruscate, coruscation, cutaneous sense, dap, daze, dazzle, dekko, diffuse light, dip, draw aside, ease off, edge off, exchange colors, facula, feel, feeling, fingertip caress, finish, flag, flag down, flame, flare, flash, flick, flicker, fly off, fog bell, fog signal, fog whistle, foghorn, fulgurate, furbish, gander, gee, give a signal, give light, give the nod, glance, glance at, glance off, glare, glaze, gleam, gleam of light, glimmer, glimpse, glint, glisten, glitter, gloss, glow, go light, go off, gong buoy, graze, green light, hail, hail and speak, half an eye, half-mast, hand-mindedness, haw, head off, heliograph, high sign, hit, hoist a banner, impinge, impingement, impingence, incandesce, international alphabet flag, international numeral pennant, jib, kick, kiss, lambency, lap, leer, lick, light touch, look, luster, make a sign, make way for, marker beacon, move aside, nod, nudge, osculate, osculation, parachute flare, peek, peep, pilot flag, poke, police whistle, polish, quarantine flag, quick sight, radiate, radio beacon, raise a cry, rapid glance, rebound, red flag, red light, reflect, ricochet, rocket, rub, sailing aid, salute, scan, scintillate, scintillation, scour, scrape, semaphore, semaphore flag, semaphore telegraph, send out rays, sense of touch, shave, sheer off, shimmer, shine, shine brightly, shoot, shoot out rays, shove aside, shunt, shy, shy off, side, sidestep, sideswipe, sidetrack, sidle, sign, signal, signal beacon, signal bell, signal fire, signal flag, signal gong, signal gun, signal lamp, signal light, signal mast, signal post, signal rocket, signal shot, signal siren, signal tower, signalize, skim, skip, skirt, slant, sleek, slick, slick down, solar flare, solar prominence, sound an alarm, sound the trumpet, spar buoy, sparkle, speak, squeak by, squiz, steer clear of, step aside, stop light, strike, stroke, sweep, switch, tactile sense, taction, tangency, tap, tentative contact, tentative poke, the nod, the wink, touch, touch lightly, touch upon, touching, traffic light, traffic signal, turn aside, turn away, turn back, twinkle, unfurl a flag, varnish, veer off, watch fire, wave, wave a flag, wave the hand, wax, whisper, white flag, wigwag, wigwag flag, wink, yellow flag