flicker

1 of 3

verb

flick·​er ˈfli-kər How to pronounce flicker (audio)
flickered; flickering ˈfli-k(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce flicker (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to move irregularly or unsteadily : flutter
Shadows flickered on the wall.
2
: to burn or shine fitfully or with a fluctuating light
a candle flickering in the window
3
: to appear or pass briefly or quickly
Thoughts flickered through his mind.
A smile flickered across her face.

transitive verb

1
: to cause to flicker
2
: to produce by flickering

flicker

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: an act of flickering
b
: a sudden brief movement
the flicker of an eyelash
c
: a momentary quickening
a flicker of anger
d
: a slight indication : hint
a flicker of recognition
2
a
: a wavering light
the flicker of a candle
b
: a repeated momentary defect in a cathode-ray tube image caused especially by slow scanning of the screen
3
dated, informal : movie
often used in plural
flickery adjective

flicker

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a large barred and spotted North American woodpecker (Colaptes auratus) with a brown back that commonly forages on the ground for ants compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker

Examples of flicker in a Sentence

Verb A TV was flickering in the background. The overhead light kept flickering off and on. Thoughts flickered through his mind. A smile flickered across her face.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
These early moments of flickering possibility are conjured well, and a sharp contrast is established between Thomas’ heedless self-belief and the shrewd pragmatism of his brother, the town’s mayor. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 But this is really about the birds, dancers draped in black with red socks, who angle their arms like wings with flickering fingers and swirl around the stage in fluttering lines. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Indeed, exposing mice to a light flickering at 40 hertz helped cut down amyloid plaques, a hallmark of the disease, by almost half. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Havana residents hunkered down overnight as lights flickered on and off but slowly emerged onto the streets Tuesday morning bundled in jackets and hats as temperatures plunged to as low as 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius), unusually chilly for Cuba. Reuters, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024 Three levels of candle holders or candles (12-inch tapers, 10-inch tapers and tea lights) bring visual stimulation and energy to your table from the flickering light. Mary Carol Garrity, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 At least a dozen people — some area residents and a Twin Rivers Unified School District teacher who knew KJ — held flickering candles that illuminated photos of the 10-year-old’s young face on Tuesday while listening to Trepaigner. Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 At a hospital in Brussels in 2019, one patient was fully awake while surgeons removed two parathyroid glands from her throat, while an anesthesiologist asked her to imagine Thanksgiving dinner at home, candles flickering in a windowsill. Emily Latimer, Longreads, 25 Jan. 2024 Through the hole, city lights could be seen flickering past. Terry Spencer, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2024
Noun
Weinstein and his team saw a flicker of hope during that process, as some of the five judges expressed some contempt for what Burke had allowed in 2020. Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2024 If Tom’s early days with Dickie flicker with the energy of a dynamo pulling him into his orbit, his time with Peter is tender, a moment of grace. Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024 No doubt a familiar flicker passes through her mind: this will be a great anecdote for my Oscar campaign. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 The evidence is ambiguous enough that, in October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to hold off on declaring the bird extinct, leaving it on the list of endangered species — and leaving its many admirers with a flicker of hope. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024 Billions of dollars can change hands inside these rooms without a flicker of news coverage ever appearing. Jesse Barron, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024 The hope is that her faces will trigger a flicker of recognition in the general public, and wham—another cold case cracked. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 Energy company Con Edison reported a short flicker in voltage on Thursday night due to equipment failure at the Farragut Substation in Brooklyn. Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 15 Dec. 2023 With most of the Russian political opposition, like Volkov, in exile, and long jail sentences now meted out for even a flicker of dissent, mass protests following Navalny’s death are virtually unthinkable. Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flicker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English flikeren, from Old English flicorian

Noun (2)

probably imitative of its call

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1822, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1809, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flicker was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near flicker

Cite this Entry

“Flicker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flicker. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flicker

1 of 3 verb
flick·​er ˈflik-ər How to pronounce flicker (audio)
flickered; flickering -(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce flicker (audio)
1
: to move irregularly or unsteadily : flutter
2
: to burn unsteadily or with a constantly changing light
a flickering candle

flicker

2 of 3 noun
1
: an act of flickering
2
: a brief stirring
a flicker of interest
3
: a flickering light
flickery adjective

flicker

3 of 3 noun
: a large insect-eating North American woodpecker with a black crescent on the breast and yellow or red on the underside of the wings and tail compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker

Medical Definition

flicker

noun
flick·​er ˈflik-ər How to pronounce flicker (audio)
: the wavering or fluttering visual sensation produced by intermittent light when the interval between flashes is not small enough to produce complete fusion of the individual impressions

More from Merriam-Webster on flicker

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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