glimmer
1 of 2verb
glim·mer ˈgli-mər 
glimmered; glimmering ˈgli-mə-riŋ
ˈglim-
intransitive verb
1
a
: to shine faintly or unsteadily
The candles glimmered in the windows.
b
: to give off a subdued unsteady reflection
Her white satin dress glimmered in the dusk.
2
: to appear indistinctly with a faintly luminous quality
glimmer
2 of 2noun
1
a
: a feeble or intermittent light
the first glimmer of dawn
b
: a subdued unsteady shining or sparkle
2
a
: a dim perception or faint idea : inkling
gave them a glimmer of what they could expect
b
: hint, spark
a glimmer of intelligence
a glimmer of hope
Synonyms
Verb
- coruscate
- flame
- flash
- glance
- gleam
- glint
- glisten
- glister
- glitter
- luster
- lustre
- scintillate
- shimmer
- spangle
- sparkle
- twinkle
- wink
- winkle
Noun
- ace
- bit
- crumb
- dab
- dram
- driblet
- hint
- lick
- little
- mite
- nip
- ounce
- particle
- peanuts
- ray
- scintilla
- scruple
- shade
- shadow
- shred
- skosh
- smack
- smell
- smidgen
- smidgeon
- smidgin
- smidge
- snap
- soupçon
- spark
- spatter
- speck
- splash
- spot
- sprinkling
- strain
- streak
- suspicion
- tad
- touch
- trace
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb Candles glimmered in the windows of the inn. Moonlight glimmered on the pond. Noun the glimmer of a distant star Their first meeting with the new boss gave them a glimmer of what they could expect.
Recent Examples on the Web
Vulture, 23 Nov. 2022 Vikander’s Irma Vep and her new velvet may strive to glimmer in our imagination, but a catsuit is only as powerful as the actor who is poured into it. —Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 12 July 2022 Because you’re surrounded by water, the light here seems to glimmer more brightly here than anywhere else on the Cape. —Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2022 Windows in both abodes are so large that even on a cloudy day, the gilt-wooded and ormolu of picture frames and table legs gently glimmer and the polished wood of a Regency table and Biedermeier settee gleam. —ELLE Decor, 22 Dec. 2022 The Gold Coast began to glimmer in the country’s social consciousness, the exploits of its inhabitants becoming fodder for the social papers as well as novels, including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. —Town & Country, 1 Nov. 2022 Holiday lights are expected to glimmer once again at Shore Acres State Park, marking the return of one of the best holiday events in Oregon. —oregonlive, 27 July 2022 The slow-moving waters of Putah Creek appeared to glimmer from above — an impossible angle. —Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 The lovers are carved in marble: Their perfect white forms perennially glimmer through the filigree of sun and foliage and water. —New York Times, 19 Apr. 2022 Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022 Money managers had gotten a glimmer of hope last month when the Labor Department’s consumer-price index report showed inflation pulled back slightly from multidecade highs in July. —Akane Otani, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022 When there’s a glimmer of light, the Dodgers snuff it out. —Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2022 There’s a slight glimmer of hope for thunderstorms to bring some more substantial heat relief next weekend. —Dallas News, 15 May 2022 New York has just six wins during the last two years, but there’s a glimmer of hope after last season’s 4-13 campaign under first-year coach Robert Saleh. —Dennis Waszak Jr., Hartford Courant, 23 Apr. 2022 So that wasn’t even a glimmer in our eyes yet that that conversation was about to re-emerge. —Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2023 With the help of researchers, Buettner spent dozens of hours searching for a glimmer of blue in traditional foods brought to the United States. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 29 Jan. 2023 His sharp humor is woven through like a bright thread, but moments of despair and anger glimmer darkly, too. —Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023 See More
Verb
Puts gives the orchestra plenty of chances to glimmer and swell. —Vulture, 23 Nov. 2022 Vikander’s Irma Vep and her new velvet may strive to glimmer in our imagination, but a catsuit is only as powerful as the actor who is poured into it. —Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 12 July 2022 Because you’re surrounded by water, the light here seems to glimmer more brightly here than anywhere else on the Cape. —Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2022 Windows in both abodes are so large that even on a cloudy day, the gilt-wooded and ormolu of picture frames and table legs gently glimmer and the polished wood of a Regency table and Biedermeier settee gleam. —ELLE Decor, 22 Dec. 2022 The Gold Coast began to glimmer in the country’s social consciousness, the exploits of its inhabitants becoming fodder for the social papers as well as novels, including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. —Town & Country, 1 Nov. 2022 Holiday lights are expected to glimmer once again at Shore Acres State Park, marking the return of one of the best holiday events in Oregon. —oregonlive, 27 July 2022 The slow-moving waters of Putah Creek appeared to glimmer from above — an impossible angle. —Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 The lovers are carved in marble: Their perfect white forms perennially glimmer through the filigree of sun and foliage and water. —New York Times, 19 Apr. 2022 Noun
In the aftermath of this tragedy, that’s the glimmer of hope amid the mounds of wilting flowers and melting candles and wrung out emotions. —Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022 Money managers had gotten a glimmer of hope last month when the Labor Department’s consumer-price index report showed inflation pulled back slightly from multidecade highs in July. —Akane Otani, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022 When there’s a glimmer of light, the Dodgers snuff it out. —Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2022 There’s a slight glimmer of hope for thunderstorms to bring some more substantial heat relief next weekend. —Dallas News, 15 May 2022 New York has just six wins during the last two years, but there’s a glimmer of hope after last season’s 4-13 campaign under first-year coach Robert Saleh. —Dennis Waszak Jr., Hartford Courant, 23 Apr. 2022 So that wasn’t even a glimmer in our eyes yet that that conversation was about to re-emerge. —Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2023 With the help of researchers, Buettner spent dozens of hours searching for a glimmer of blue in traditional foods brought to the United States. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 29 Jan. 2023 His sharp humor is woven through like a bright thread, but moments of despair and anger glimmer darkly, too. —Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English glimeren; akin to Old English glǣm gleam
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing glimmer
Kids Definition
glimmer
noun glim·mer
ˈglim-ər
1
a
: a feeble or unsteady light
b
: a soft shimmer
2
a
: a faint idea : inkling
b
: a small amount : bit
glimmer verb
glimmer 1 of 2
noun
1
as in little
a very small amount a glimmer of hope that there will be snow on Christmas Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- little
- hint
- sprinkling
- shred
- splash
- speck
- touch
- bit
- spark
- sliver
- ray
- lick
- tad
- trace
- dab
- smidgen
- scintilla
- fleck
- handful
- smidgeon
- ounce
- streak
- particle
- crumb
- suspicion
- smack
- pinch
- smidgin
- shade
- smell
- soupçon
- smidge
- shadow
- dash
- spatter
- minimum
- dram
- modicum
- peanuts
- spot
- bite
- mite
- scruple
- dose
- drop
- strain
- nip
- portion
- skosh
- ace
- semblance
- iota
- driblet
- drop in the bucket
- taste
- snap
- grain
- vestige
- whit
- mote
- molecule
- dot
- part
- jot
- nibble
- tittle
- fragment
- smattering
- patch
- section
- morsel
- scrap
- atom
- minim
- syllable
- scattering
- hoot
- nubbin
- flyspeck
- granule
- shard
- flake
- shiver
- splinter
- smatter
- tatter
- chip
- clipping
- shot
- shaving
- smithereens
- paring
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- plenty
- abundance
- wealth
- lot
- deal
- pile
- loads
- profusion
- bushel
- heaps
- bundle
- quantity
- fistful
- gobs
- boatload
- mountain
- oodles
- mess
- peck
- mass
- scads
- stack
- bucket
- barrel
- raft
- reams
- wad
- lashings
- passel
- volume
- surplus
- excess
- much
- embarrassment
- lashins
- potful
- overabundance
- superabundance
- bonanza
- overflow
- surfeit
- chunk
- superfluity
- oversupply
- slab
- hunk
- overkill
- lump
- overmuch
- overage
2
as in hint
an almost imperceptible sign of something most of the students showed not even a glimmer of interest in what I had to say Synonyms & Similar Words
- hint
- flicker
- touch
- breath
- whiff
- suggestion
- trace
- tang
- sign
- evidence
- inkling
- indication
- scent
- wind
- intimation
- mark
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- saturation
- permeation
- pervasion
glimmer
2 of 2verb
as in to gleam
to shoot forth bursts of light the waters of the rippling brook glimmered in the sun Synonyms & Similar Words
- gleam
- glint
- shimmer
- sparkle
- flash
- twinkle
- shine
- glitter
- glisten
- glow
- luster
- glance
- wink
- glister
- spangle
- lustre
- flame
- scintillate
- winkle
- coruscate
- beam
- dazzle
- blind
- flare
- glare
- radiate
- daze
- blaze
- bedazzle
- burn
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of glimmer are flash, gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, shimmer, and sparkle. While all these words mean "to send forth light," glimmer suggests a faint or wavering gleam.
a distant glimmering light
In some situations, the words flash and glimmer are roughly equivalent. However, flash implies a sudden outburst of bright light.
lightning flashed
The words gleam and glimmer can be used in similar contexts, but gleam suggests a steady light seen through an obscuring medium or against a dark background.
lights gleamed in the valley
The synonyms glint and glimmer are sometimes interchangeable, but glint implies a cold glancing light.
glinting steel
The meanings of glisten and glimmer largely overlap; however, glisten applies to the soft sparkle from a wet or oily surface.
glistening wet sidewalk
While the synonyms glitter and glimmer are close in meaning, glitter connotes a brilliant sparkling or gleaming.
glittering diamonds
Although the words shimmer and glimmer have much in common, shimmer means shining with a wavering light.
a shimmering satin dress
The words sparkle and glimmer are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sparkle suggests innumerable moving points of bright light.
the sparkling waters