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
-
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:
Matt Weinstock, a longtime Mirror columnist, offered a glimmer of optimism: “I get the feeling that if and when computers are admitted to the human race they’ll want out.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
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
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
There was a brief glimmer of hope Servite would come back when it scored a touchdown to make the score 34-21 with five minutes left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The snowy land was ever so flat and uninspiring and went on forever without a glimmer of adventure beckoning over the horizon.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
For those of us who actually do like crepes, though, there are some glimmers of hope.
From Salon ● Aug. 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 were glimmers of that again this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
My own humanity was awakened, rising up to greet me with a handshake as I watched the first glimmers of sunlight peek over the horizon.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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
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
At night, they glimmered across the water: Twenty-five thousand tiny LEDs, stretching 1.8 miles across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
The old Valyrian road glimmered ahead of them like a long silver ribbon winding through wood and dale.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
Despite the glimmering signs of stress on the domestic front, Chinese leaders recently signalled they have no intention of rolling out any major policy easing in the near term.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
But “Ankhmerwer”—gorgeously inscribed and illustrated and sprinkled with glimmering gold shrines, crowns, birds, gods and sun disks—rewards close looking and empathetic eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 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
Faster and faster, until even the knight in his armor is gone beneath the gray and glimmering waves.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
