adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from present participle of shinen to shine — more at shine
1. : emitting light : shedding radiance : glowing
one shining morning — John Muir †1914
gazed up at the shining heavens
2.
a. : reflecting light : gleaming, lustrous
its shining white church and background of fir and spruce — American Guide Series: Maine
covered with shining enamel — Victorian Naturalist
b. : reflecting an inner spirit often of radiance or joy
essentially unsophisticated … with shining eyes — Donald Foley
3. : bright often splendid in appearance or aspect : resplendent
its shape was destroyed, its shining newness a bruised memory — Henry LaCossitt
a warm and shining company of friends — Newsweek
4. : possessing a distinguished quality : marked by illustrious eminence or exceptional merit
her sharp and shining prose — Carl Van Doren
had shining virtues and few faults — Richard Garnett †1906
singled out … as the shining example of his tribe — C.R.Anderson
5. : full of sunshine
a wiser … way to improve the shining hours — L.P.Smith
have had my fair share of shining hours — R.F.Wagner
6. : unusually clean and bright
the men and boys with shining faces and in Sunday suits — Flora Thompson