glimmer
Americannoun
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a faint or unsteady light; gleam.
-
a dim perception; inkling.
verb (used without object)
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to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.
-
to appear faintly or dimly.
verb
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(of a light, candle, etc) to glow faintly or flickeringly
-
to be indicated faintly
hope glimmered in his face
noun
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a glow or twinkle of light
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a faint indication
Synonym Usage
See gleam.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glimmersimple
-
glimmerssimple
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have glimmeredperfect
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has glimmeredperfect
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are glimmeringprogressive
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am glimmeringprogressive
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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.
In July, the donation option will switch to support Project Glimmer, which provides gifts for teen girls in need.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2020
Adora switches sides and joins the Rebellion after learning everything she thought she knew about the world was a lie thanks to her new friends Glimmer and Bow.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2018
New exotic weapons can be built using exotic shards and a small amount of Glimmer.
From The Verge • Aug. 19, 2015
I also miss the fact that killing enemies in the alpha used to automatically give Glimmer, but I understand that it was probably currency overload given how quickly you can rack up kills.
From Forbes • Sep. 8, 2014
We occupied the top floor, under the name of Glimmer & Company.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
