flashed

verb

past tense of flash
1
as in gleamed
to shoot forth bursts of light the actress's diamond necklace flashed as she hurried on stage to accept the award

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in displayed
to present so as to invite notice or attention flashed a wad of cash as he paid for his dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in twinkled
to shine with light at regular intervals the disco lights flashed, and the revelers danced

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in announced
to make known openly or publicly flashed the news of the royal birth around the world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flashed At first the owner stared at him blankly, then flashed a look of distaste, as if a dirty rodent had brushed his foot. — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026 The fifth-round pick from Nebraska has flashed as both a runner and pass-catcher behind the Chiefs’ featured back. — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026 As Americans prepared to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday on the morning of July 4, sobering images flashed across their phones and TV screens. — James Bisbee, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026 In mid-September, the large electronic sign of a Lutheran church flashed this message by a throughfare between growing subdivisions and cornfields in a Twin Cities suburb. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026 Willis has flashed it, at times, too, in practices leading up to the season. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026 Conwell, 22, flashed that skill set during four summer league appearances with the Heat this offseason. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026 After Karol and her guests left the stage, giant screens on either side of the stage flashed videos from fans taking part in the song’s viral TikTok dance trend. — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026 Gusto has flashed potential as a crosser during stretches of his Chelsea career, registering nine assists in 37 games across all competitions in that breakout 2023-24 season. — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flashed
  1. gleamed
  2. displayed
  3. twinkled
  4. announced
  5. glinted
  6. exhibited
  7. flickered
  8. published
Verb
  • In front of the Jabara family, the turquoise waters of Torch Lake gleamed alluringly in the July heat.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Further details can only be gleamed from the photos, but what’s plain to see is that the shoe shares much of the same shape as the LeBron 23.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of gleamed
Verb
  • At trial, a neurological expert testified that Linton had a seizure in the lead up to the collision, and a psychiatrist said Linton displayed psychotic symptoms weeks after the crash that were consistent with the aftermath of a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • On Facebook, Lee’s account displayed a picture of the young Chinese man from behind, rippling shoulders framed in a weight lifter’s tank top.
    — Eamon Javers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of displayed
Verb
  • And for a slight moment, his eyes twinkled underneath the LED lights inside the Kansas City Royals clubhouse.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Before a big night out or even just dinner with friends, lids twinkled, cheekbones caught the light from every angle, and lip gloss doubled as a mirror.
    — Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of twinkled
Verb
  • The release marks a significant milestone for the studio in a strategic partnership with Almuslim, first announced more than two years ago, aimed at adapting several of his popular literary works into film and television projects.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday morning, the Nobel Prize for medicine was announced.
    — Jeffrey S. Flier, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of announced
Verb
  • After spending some time by the pool, a semi-Olympic lined with emerald and malachite mosaics that glinted in the soft, ambient light, followed by a quick trip to the sauna, I was escorted to my treatment room, about a half-flight of stairs up, where I was met by Marcia, my therapist.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 June 2026
  • The silver Chrysler Sebring glinted when the sun kissed the parking lot in Temple, Texas, sitting by its lonesome.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
Definition of glinted
Verb
  • Smith exhibited no nerves as the opener, throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings after his three scoreless frames in Game 1 of the wild-card series.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Nonprofits exhibited alongside dealers, noted the paper; that combination has since become de rigueur at many such events.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of exhibited
Verb
  • The shadows of the trees swaying in the breeze flickered across it.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The stadium lights flickered off, and both teams stood awkwardly as officials huddled at the 20-yard line.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of flickered
Verb
  • And while The Atlantic has published largely skeptical coverage of major AI companies and their products’ impact on society, Thompson’s tone, in his podcasts and LinkedIn posts, has been more optimistic.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • There was another surge in the 1990s, due largely to the effort of Connecticut native Jim Beloff, who published a series of popular ukulele songbooks and also helped design sleek new ukulele models called The Fluke and The Flea.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of published

Browse Nearby Words

flashcubes
flashed
flashed back (to)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flashed. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All