flicker

¹ American  

[flik-er] / ˈflɪk ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to burn unsteadily; shine with a wavering light; blink on and off.

   The candle flickered in the draft and went out.

   Synonyms:

   twinkle, shimmer, flash, gleam, glimmer, flare

2. to move to and fro; vibrate; quiver.

   The long grasses flickered in the wind.

3. to flutter.

   Her eyelids flickered, the only sign she'd been startled.

4. to appear or occur briefly.

   A smile flickered across his face.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cause to flicker.

   She flickered the lights quickly to attract their attention.

noun

1. an unsteady flame or light.

   A dim flicker of lamplight was all that illuminated the room.

2. a flickering movement.

   The flicker of the snake's tongue was hypnotizing.

3. a brief occurrence or appearance.

   The thought of reinforcements gave them a flicker of hope.

4. Slang. Often flickers flick.

5. Ophthalmology. the visual sensation of flickering that occurs when the interval between intermittent flashes of light is too long to permit fusion.

flicker ² American  

[flik-er] / ˈflɪk ər /

noun

1. any of several American woodpeckers of the genus Colaptes, having the underside of the wings and tail brightly marked with yellow or red and noted for taking insects from the ground as well as trees.

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flicker ¹ British  

/ ˈflɪkə /

verb

1. (intr) to shine with an unsteady or intermittent light

   a candle flickers

2. (intr) to move quickly to and fro; quiver, flutter, or vibrate

3. (tr) to cause to flicker

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noun

1. an unsteady or brief light or flame

2. a swift quivering or fluttering movement

3. a visual sensation, often seen in a television image, produced by periodic fluctuations in the brightness of light at a frequency below that covered by the persistence of vision

4. (plural) a US word for flick 2

flicker ² British  

/ ˈflɪkə /

noun

1. any North American woodpecker of the genus Colaptes , esp C. auratus ( yellow-shafted flicker ), which has a yellow undersurface to the wings and tail

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Other Word Forms

• flickeringly adverb
• flickery adjective
• unflickering adjective
• unflickeringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of flicker¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb flikeren, flekeren, Old English flicerian, flicorian “to flutter”; cognate with Dutch flikkeren

Origin of flicker²

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10; said to be imitative of the bird's note

Example Sentences

Bevis stays glued for hours at a time to one 49-inch monitor flickering with stock charts and another screen with a constant stream of headlines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Edgar Calel’s dimly lighted installation, in which stones and plant matter dangle over vessels that hold flickering, electronic flames, transports us to a contemplative gnostic ritual.

From The Wall Street Journal

"As the visible light began to flicker and dim, the infrared light spiked. Which could mean that the material blocking the star is hot -- so hot that it's glowing in the infrared."

From Science Daily

Ms. Ziegler’s sardonic humor flickers or flares in virtually every scene.

From The Wall Street Journal

It requires the audience to bring their own bad vibes to shots of religious icons on the wall and long takes of Evy clacking on her laptop, unaware of a flickering light behind her.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blare
• blink
• flare
• flash
• flit
• gleam
• glimmer
• glint
• glitter
• glow
• hover
• quiver
• shimmer
• tremble
• twinkle
• waver