1
as in bursts
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
a flash of last-minute trips to the grocery store before the onset of the big snowstorm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in explosions
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
a much-needed flash of humor during the otherwise boring lecture
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in minutes
a very small space of time
the shower will be over in a flash
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in miracles
something extraordinary or surprising
the new goalie for our hockey team was apparently quite a flash in his hometown
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in gleams
to shoot forth bursts of light
the actress's diamond necklace flashed as she hurried on stage to accept the award
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in displays
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
4
as in announces
to make known openly or publicly
flashed the news of the royal birth around the world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flashes
The Athletic Nhl, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Rookie quarterback Cam Ward has shown flashes but has already been sacked 15 times, exposing major cracks in Tennessee's offensive line.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Storms can be spotty and short-lived, while others can unleash strong winds, flashes of lightning and torrential downpours.
—Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Such sensors can identify electromagnetic pulses, X-rays, and optical flashes from nuclear explosions anywhere on Earth, allowing the US to determine a detonation’s time, location, and yield in real time.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Along the way, blazes of pyrotechnics, flashes of light and hazes of smoke heightened the set’s intensity.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 22 Sep. 2025
Colliding neutron stars create kilonovae, with brilliant electromagnetic flashes.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 22 Sep. 2025
Released post-Columbine and heavily influenced by that tragedy, Scream 3 walks back from the gruesome violence and flashes of genuine nastiness that permeated the previous installments.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Moments of romantic play give way to flashes of authoritarian force, broken up by thumping EDM.
—David Hochman, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
Hayley then flashes a strip of sonogram photos at the camera as the couple smiles and sways in the sunlight.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
The film begins with a flashback scene to the beginning of the rage virus, then flashes forward 28 years to an isolated island near the Scottish Highlands, where its inhabitants are isolated from the zombie-like creatures that roam the mainland.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
The fall in home borrowing costs comes as the bond market flashes signals that the US economy may be deteriorating more than expected, after new data suggested that the US labor market was much weaker than previously thought.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
But before the title even flashes on screen, we are granted the disturbingly detailed view of a bullet ripping through the face of a young boy.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
If a fan’s only window into football analytics is a contextless statistic that flashes on the screen, though, then they might be justified in thinking data was useless.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
Archie the coach strides past my possie and flashes me a smile.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The sinister Dark Hearts motorcycle gang can be a little one-note, but Jamie McShane flashes frightening menace as gang leader Perry.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
Until the Senators turn flashes of greatness into consistent excellence, though, questions regarding their ceiling will continue to be asked.
—The Athletic Nhl, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Rookie quarterback Cam Ward has shown flashes but has already been sacked 15 times, exposing major cracks in Tennessee's offensive line.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Storms can be spotty and short-lived, while others can unleash strong winds, flashes of lightning and torrential downpours.
—Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Such sensors can identify electromagnetic pulses, X-rays, and optical flashes from nuclear explosions anywhere on Earth, allowing the US to determine a detonation’s time, location, and yield in real time.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Along the way, blazes of pyrotechnics, flashes of light and hazes of smoke heightened the set’s intensity.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 22 Sep. 2025
Colliding neutron stars create kilonovae, with brilliant electromagnetic flashes.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 22 Sep. 2025
Released post-Columbine and heavily influenced by that tragedy, Scream 3 walks back from the gruesome violence and flashes of genuine nastiness that permeated the previous installments.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Moments of romantic play give way to flashes of authoritarian force, broken up by thumping EDM.
—David Hochman, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
But then, the actress flashes a mischievous grin.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
Hayley then flashes a strip of sonogram photos at the camera as the couple smiles and sways in the sunlight.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
The film begins with a flashback scene to the beginning of the rage virus, then flashes forward 28 years to an isolated island near the Scottish Highlands, where its inhabitants are isolated from the zombie-like creatures that roam the mainland.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
The fall in home borrowing costs comes as the bond market flashes signals that the US economy may be deteriorating more than expected, after new data suggested that the US labor market was much weaker than previously thought.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
But before the title even flashes on screen, we are granted the disturbingly detailed view of a bullet ripping through the face of a young boy.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
If a fan’s only window into football analytics is a contextless statistic that flashes on the screen, though, then they might be justified in thinking data was useless.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
Archie the coach strides past my possie and flashes me a smile.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The sinister Dark Hearts motorcycle gang can be a little one-note, but Jamie McShane flashes frightening menace as gang leader Perry.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flashes
Noun
-
The new discovery completely alters our understanding of gamma ray bursts, which were once thought to be caused only by black holes.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
-
With surreal flourishes and bursts of absurdity, filmmaker Milagros Mumenthaler casts a beguiling, dreamlike spell that delicately examines motherhood, class and identity.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones flying overhead and air defenses booming.—
Pavel Polityuk,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
-
This finding offers new insights into the life cycles of stars and the science of stellar explosions, challenging previous assumptions about nova recurrence rates and shell formation.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite in all of Earth’s history, completing an orbit around the Earth at an altitude of hundreds of miles (or kilometers) above the ground every 90 minutes.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Believing miracles can happen is how Tony Arenas has approached his life-threatening medical challenges.—
Cathy Kozlowicz,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Not only that, Liverpool’s second summer transfer window under him was riotous (unprecedented, really, for the club and the Premier League), rendering miracles unnecessary.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Patches of unintelligibility are nothing new in Pynchon, but usually a coherent world view gleams upward from the murk.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Nothing gleams as beautifully as a white kitchen.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Businesses are finding that people enjoy planning Halloween displays well ahead of the holiday.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Entries for its 2025 Annual National Gingerbread House Competition are now being accepted, after it the event was canceled last year — though the inn put gingerbread displays all around Asheville instead.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
During Christmas dinner, Martha (72) announces her separation after discovering her husband’s affair with her best friend, upending the holiday as her children and their partners confront their own romantic issues.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Overcome with fury, the King announces his plan to slaughter anyone who was complicit, including his own grandmother.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Ali was scoring plenty with jabs and flurries, but his attempts to land big punches mostly fell flat.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Thin air and unpredictable wind flurries near Everest’s highest elevations prevent the drones from operating at some of the final camps leading to the summit.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flashes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flashes. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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