glimmer
Americannoun
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glimmers
plural
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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
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(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
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glimmersimple
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glimmerssimple
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have glimmeredperfect
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has glimmeredperfect
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am glimmeringprogressive
-
are glimmeringprogressive
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is glimmeringprogressive
-
have been glimmeringperfect progressive
-
has been glimmeringperfect progressive
Past
-
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
But a high tackle by Trinity centre Corey Hall resulted in him being sin-binned early in the second period and, with a man extra, Lindop went over to offer a glimmer of a comeback.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 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
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
A glimmer of scarlet was wavering in the white-and-gray sky.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
For those of us who actually do like crepes, though, there are some glimmers of hope.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"The humanitarian situation here is desperate, but there are faint glimmers of hope," Guterres wrote in the post on X. "We must stand with Haiti."
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Some glimmers of hope have emerged from what we do know.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 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
There are glimmers of light in the sky as the sun gets set to rise, the road pointing right toward it, the river, too, rushing toward the dawn.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
Beats hummed, lights glimmered and about 200 young men and women traded emerald-green tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
In a small village further up the beach, Christmas lights glimmered in the dark.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023
Cameras and cellphones focused on the Colorado quarterback, whose thick diamond-encrusted chain adorned with his No. 2 jersey number glimmered as the sun rose over the east side of Folsom Field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2023
Then, as he did throughout the night, Clemons took center stage and wailed on his sax that glimmered in the setting sun.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
Shafts of the sun flared above the eastern hills and glimmered on their spears.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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
Swimming pools, well-manicured lawns, carefully appointed midcentury interiors, glimmering light and stylish people abound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Alongside the spectacle of execution and the glimmering blood, Mary, John, St. Dominic and others beside Christ in many of these frescos cover their faces or turn away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 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
It was a pale morning: in the East, behind long clouds like lines of soiled wool stained red at the edges, lay glimmering deeps of yellow.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
