Link Centre Dictionary

glimmer

glim·mer

US/ˈɡlɪməː/ uncommon dated
noun (2) verb (1)

noun

1.
2.

a slight suggestion or vague understanding

  • “he had no inkling what was about to happen”
Synonyms

verb

1.

shine brightly, like a star or a light

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English glimeren, glemeren (“to glimmer”), equivalent to glim (“to shine”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with German Low German glimmern (“to glimmer”), German glimmern (“to glimmer”), Danish glimre (“to glimmer”), Swedish glimra (“to glimmer”). Doublet of glimpse. Sense 5 was coined in the 2020s in analogy to trigger.

Phrases

  • glimmer of hope

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.