1
general::
shiny
looking bright and smooth, and reflecting light:
• Her hair was now washed and shiny. • A shiny limousine pulled in front of the building. • His face was shiny with sweat. • shiny metal objects
glossy
used about hair or fur that looks shiny and healthy. Glossy magazines and books use expensive shiny paper:
• My hair seemed much thicker and more glossy. • His fur is all glossy. • The plant's leaves were still glossy. • He was flicking through a glossy magazine. • glossy brochures advertising skiing vacations
sleek
shiny and smooth in a way that looks very attractive – used especially about hair, fur, a car or machine, or about someone's body:
• the cat's sleek fur • His sleek dark-blue Mercedes was parked outside. • I looked at the sleek brown bodies resting beside the pool. • the sleek lines of a Bang and Olufsen television • A small jet waited like a sleek silver bird beside the runway.
silky
very soft and smooth to touch, like silk – used about hair, fur, skin, or material:
• Her skirt and jacket were made of smooth, silky fabric. • Fernando stroked her silky hair and kissed her forehead. • her silky skin
gleaming
very shiny and clean – used especially about something that has just been polished:
• A gleaming motorcycle stood parked outside the bar. • his gleaming white teeth • gleaming black shoes • The tourist brochures show gleaming white sand.
glistening
literary something that is glistening is shiny, especially because it is wet:
• her glistening eyes • I recognized his dark glistening skin. • We stared at the glistening expanse of the sea. • the glistening white of the dome • the glistening black heads of the seals
lustrous
literary shining in a soft gentle way – used about hair, eyes, lips, or material:
• Her hair was thick and lustrous. • His eyes were dark and lustrous. • her lustrous lips • the fabric's smooth lustrous surface
polished
polished shoes, floors, tables etc are shiny because they have been rubbed until they shine:
• a highly polished floor
Longman-Thesaurus