glimmer

¹glim·mer

intransitive verb \ˈgli-mər\

glim·meredglim·mer·ing \ˈglim-riŋ, ˈgli-mə-\

Definition of GLIMMER

1

a : to shine faintly or unsteadily

b : to give off a subdued unsteady reflection

2

: to appear indistinctly with a faintly luminous quality

Examples of GLIMMER

1. Candles glimmered in the windows of the inn.
2. Moonlight glimmered on the pond.

Origin of GLIMMER

Middle English glimeren; akin to Old English glǣm gleam

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to GLIMMER

Synonyms

coruscate, flame, glance, gleam, flash, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, luster (or lustre), scintillate, shimmer, spangle, sparkle, twinkle, wink, winkle

Related Words

beam, radiate, shine; bedazzle, blind, daze, dazzle; blaze, burn, flare, glare, glow

See Synonym Discussion at flash

Rhymes with GLIMMER

brimmer, dimmer, limmer, limner, primer, shimmer, simmer, skimmer, slimmer, swimmer, trimmer

²glimmer

noun

Definition of GLIMMER

1

a : a feeble or intermittent light

b : a subdued unsteady shining or sparkle

2

a : a dim perception or faint idea : inkling

b : hint, spark <a glimmer of intelligence>

Examples of GLIMMER

1. the glimmer of a distant star
2. Their first meeting with the new boss gave them a glimmer of what they could expect.

First Known Use of GLIMMER

1590

Related to GLIMMER

Synonyms

ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, particle, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, trace

Related Words

hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit; atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap; dash, drop, pinch; part, portion, section; bite, nibble, taste; handful, scattering, smatter, smattering; dose, shot; chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter; shred, tatter; clipping, paring, shaving

Near Antonyms

abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth; volume; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; chunk, hunk, lump, slab

Rhymes with GLIMMER

shimmer, simmer, swimmer