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.
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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.
The black-and-white image — nearly five feet wide — is so crisp that bits of the woman’s toenail polish glimmer and the hair on her thigh appears to spark.
From Los Angeles Times
There was a glimmer of optimism but it petered out; death by phases in the end, 29 of them that went somewhere and then nowhere, a bit like Townsend's regime, you might say.
From BBC
In one glimmer of progress, the Buffalo Bills -- who have played on turf for decades -- will move into a brand new stadium with real grass next season.
From Barron's
Nuclear talks held in Oman between the U.S. and Iran on Friday initially offered a glimmer of hope for progress toward a resolution that could help ease tensions between the two nations.
From MarketWatch
But many have been taken prisoner and, for their families, Nazar's story will be a glimmer of hope.
From BBC
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.
