glancing

adjective

glanc·​ing ˈglan(t)-siŋ How to pronounce glancing (audio)
Synonyms of glancingnext
1
: hitting so as to glance off
a glancing blow
2
: incidental, indirect
made glancing allusions to her past
glancingly
ˈglan(t)-siŋ-lē How to pronounce glancing (audio)
adverb

Examples of glancing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The pair will interact in glancing blows, ripping stars from one another into long, drawn out tails. — Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2021 One of the victims suffered a serious injury to the forearm and the second a more glancing bite to the leg, police told media outlets. — Antonio Planas, NBC News, 19 Aug. 2022 These gentler, more glancing interactions often result in a merger, too. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2026 Glaser, from a very glancing stylistic consideration, looks like a multicam by comparison. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for glancing

Word History

Etymology

see glance entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of glancing was circa 1541

Phrases Containing glancing

Rhymes for glancing

See All Rhymes for glancing

Browse Nearby Words

glancer
glancing
glancing angle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Glancing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glancing. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on glancing

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for glancing

Nglish: Translation of glancing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All