glimmer

[glim-er]

noun

1. a faint or unsteady light; gleam.

2. a dim perception; inkling.

verb (used without object)

1. to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.

2. to appear faintly or dimly.

glimmer

/ ˈɡlɪmə /

verb

1. (of a light, candle, etc) to glow faintly or flickeringly

2. to be indicated faintly

   hope glimmered in his face

noun

1. a glow or twinkle of light

2. a faint indication

Other Word Forms

• glimmeringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of glimmer¹

1300–50; Middle English glimeren “to gleam”; cognate with German glimmern; compare Old English gleomu “splendor”

Word History and Origins

Origin of glimmer¹

C14: compare Middle High German glimmern, Swedish glimra, Danish glimre

Synonym Study

See gleam.

Example Sentences

“I felt my first glimmers of joy when I hung up from my mother for the last time,” he says.

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The Yankees managed to win a single game only because Judge hit a clutch home run to spark a dramatic comeback that provided a faint glimmer of hope.

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And while the near comeback briefly delivered a glimmer of hope that the U.S. could pull off something improbable, it ultimately magnified how disastrous the first two days really were.

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I feel a glimmer of transformation, a slight mysterious difference moving through my day.

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Old jewelry now glimmers with potential dollar signs.

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Related Words

• flicker 
• gleam 
• glint 
• glow 
• hint 
• inkling 
• ray 
• twinkle