A ‘glance’ means looking at something very quickly and then looking away from it. We glance at something when we are bored or are free and want to look at something inattentively or want to look at something quickly. A glance is usually intentional. We deliberately look in a particular direction or at something. For example:
- She often glanced at her phone while waiting for the taxi.
- I quickly glanced at the notebook before sitting for the test.
- He seemed to be getting bored as he was glancing at his watch now and then.
A ‘glimpse’, on the other hand, means catching a quick sight of something, usually unintentionally. We catch a glimpse of something when that comes in front of our eyes suddenly and quickly. We may or may not catch the full view of it. A typical example of a glimpse can be when we see some acquaintance all of a sudden or when we see a ferocious animal all of a sudden in a jungle. For example:
- We caught a glimpse of a leopard in the forest.
- I caught a glimpse of that girl in the crowded bus.
The key point to remember is that in case of ‘glimpse’, it is the object which appears before our eyes, i.e. it is unintentional, whereas in case of ‘glance’, it is the eyes which go to the object, i.e. it is intentional.