glimmer
Americannoun
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a faint or unsteady light; gleam.
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a dim perception; inkling.
verb (used without object)
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to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.
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to appear faintly or dimly.
verb
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(of a light, candle, etc) to glow faintly or flickeringly
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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
Related Words
See gleam.
Other Word Forms
- glimmeringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of glimmer
1300–50; Middle English glimeren “to gleam”; cognate with German glimmern; compare Old English gleomu “splendor”
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.
Ahead, the girl’s butterfly wings flashed in the water, glimmering, disappearing, glimmering, disappearing, like a beacon signaling for help.
From Literature
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But “Ankhmerwer”—gorgeously inscribed and illustrated and sprinkled with glimmering gold shrines, crowns, birds, gods and sun disks—rewards close looking and empathetic eyes.
"It's hard because you always saw that glimmer of hope in him that he was still there, but it got to a point... I ended up nearly breaking myself to trying to help Michael."
From BBC
Oh, L.A. had glimmers of whimsy to keep up our spirits.
From Los Angeles Times
China's top diplomat Wang Yi meanwhile said Thursday that signs both sides could be open to talks offered a "glimmer of hope" for peace.
From Barron's
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.