glimmer
Americannoun
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glimmers
plural
-
a faint or unsteady light; gleam.
-
a dim perception; inkling.
verb (used without object)
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glimmers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
glimmered,
past participle, past
-
glimmering
present participle
-
to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.
-
to appear faintly or dimly.
verb
-
(of a light, candle, etc) to glow faintly or flickeringly
-
to be indicated faintly
hope glimmered in his face
noun
-
a glow or twinkle of light
-
a faint indication
Synonym Usage
See gleam.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
glimmersimple
-
glimmerssimple
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have glimmeredperfect
-
has glimmeredperfect
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am glimmeringprogressive
-
are glimmeringprogressive
-
is glimmeringprogressive
-
have been glimmeringperfect progressive
-
has been glimmeringperfect progressive
Past
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glimmeredsimple
-
had glimmeredperfect
-
was glimmeringprogressive
-
were glimmeringprogressive
-
had been glimmeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glimmer
1300–50; Middle English glimeren “to gleam”; cognate with German glimmern; compare Old English gleomu “splendor”
Explanation
A glimmer is a tiny glint of light or the sliver of an idea. Either way, it's a sign of a lot more going on behind the scenes. A glimmer of light is just a little bit of light, maybe sneaking through the curtains enough to make a flicker on the floor. A glimmer of an idea is just a small inkling of an idea. When someone doesn't understand something, you could make them feel worse by saying, "You don't have a glimmer of what I'm talking about, do you?" When it comes to light, you can also say light is glimmering, or gleaming. People often say stars are glimmering.
Vocabulary lists containing glimmer
"Harrison Bergeron"
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"Of Mice and Men"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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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.
See Examples For:
A coral nursery is providing a faint glimmer of hope and has even seen the return of plankton-feeding fish.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
If there is one faint glimmer of hope, it’s that going up against Buffalo star quarterback Josh Allen might not be the worst thing for Maye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Now, though, a glimmer of hope still exists for Russell, even if he is too realistic to think too much about it for now.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Jewelry sales have offered a glimmer of hope for retailers this year, as wealthier shoppers spend like inflation doesn’t exist.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
And each time he saw again the look on the man’s face—first the glimmer of recognition, then, caught off guard, the other thing, the ripple—he felt a queasiness in his gut.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
For those of us who actually do like crepes, though, there are some glimmers of hope.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Mr. Pollack also finds some glimmers of policy progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The party is pointing to some glimmers of hope among these election results, including Westminster and holding on to other councils such as Harlow, Broxbourne, Bexley and Fareham.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
This “Farm” isn’t lacking for good intentions and, in spots, as with Woody Harrelson’s fine casting as the naïve, loyal horse Boxer, one can see glimmers of what a good adaptation might have been.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
But just as in his freshman season, he showed glimmers of promise.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Beats hummed, lights glimmered and about 200 young men and women traded emerald-green tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Cumberbatch trends drier, but even as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Strange, he glimmered with comedic depths.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2025
In a small village further up the beach, Christmas lights glimmered in the dark.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023
The sun glimmered on the sea outside his west-facing windows.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
The big square-cut gem that adorned his iron cuff glimmered redly.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
And while the movie’s legacy looks a little more macabre now, Panettiere and Trachtenberg’s glimmering performances are enough to push through the darkness.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
But “Ankhmerwer”—gorgeously inscribed and illustrated and sprinkled with glimmering gold shrines, crowns, birds, gods and sun disks—rewards close looking and empathetic eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
In the closing shot, the words "we belong together" appeared over a sea of bodies dancing beneath glimmering lights at the show.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Antonio Obá’s painting of a monk-like horseman at Mendes Wood DM, his copper-hued cloak glimmering under a turquoise sky while his gaze pierces the viewer, is a small master class in paint-handling and color theory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
There is dancing after dinner in the ballroom, where lengths of colorful, gold-embellished silk cascade over the walls and windows, glimmering in the candlelight.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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