shimmer
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to shine with or reflect a subdued, tremulous light; gleam faintly.
- Synonyms:
- glimmer
-
to appear to quiver or vibrate in faint light or while reflecting heat waves.
noun
-
a subdued, tremulous light or gleam.
-
a quivering or vibrating motion or image as produced by reflecting faint light or heat waves.
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See glisten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has shimmeredperfect 3rd person singular
-
have shimmeredperfect
-
have been shimmeringperfect progressive
-
am shimmeringprogressive 1st person singular
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are shimmeringprogressive
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is shimmeringprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been shimmeringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
shimmeringparticiple
-
shimmerssingular 3rd person
Past
-
had shimmeredperfect
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were shimmeringprogressive plural
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was shimmeringprogressive singular
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had been shimmeringperfect progressive
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shimmeredparticiple
-
shimmeredsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of shimmer
First recorded before 1100; Middle English schimeren, s(c)hemeren, Old English scimrian; cognate with Dutch schemeren, German schimmern “to glisten”
Explanation
When you shimmer you shine, although sometimes quite weakly. A shimmer is small and sometimes weak, and in danger of going out, but it's there all the same and often beautiful. You know how silk catches the light and shines in lovely ways? That's a shimmer. How about when you feel like it's the end of the world but there's a little piece of you that believes things are going to get better? That's a shimmer of hope. Or when you open a door to a dark room and the light from the hall falls into the darkness? That's a shimmer of light.
Vocabulary lists containing shimmer
Poetry Cafe
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At night, the lights that illuminate the bridge shimmer like mini moons in the waters below.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Nearby, racks of sequined jackets shimmer with slogans like "Make Heaven Crowded," worn by supporters well into their seventies who, for a few days at least, dress more like pop fans than retirees.
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
Nonverbal sung chorales often shimmer or glower beneath spoken text.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
In the dining room, makeup artist Gabrielle Alvarez delighted in thoughtfully placed pops of color and galactic shimmer.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
Even to Scarlett he seemed shadowy in the deepening dusk, like something that was almost not there, a shimmer of heat haze, a skittery leaf that for a moment had seemed to be a boy.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
