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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

glimmer.

A faint light; a dim glow.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɡlɪməː/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[ˈɡlɪməː]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈɡlɪmɚ/General-American[ˈɡlɪmɚ] ~ [ˈɡlɪmɹ̩]General-American

  1. A faint light; a dim glow.

    countable · uncountable
    The glimmer of the fireflies was pleasant to watch.

  2. A flash of light.

    countable · uncountable

  3. A faint or remote possibility (as it were a flash of light).

    countable · figuratively · uncountable

  4. Mica.

    dated · uncountable

  5. A subtle, positive micromoment that evokes feelings of joy, safety, calm, or connection.

    countable · neologism · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/ˈɡlɪməː/Australia, Received-Pronunciation[ˈɡlɪməː]Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈɡlɪmɚ/General-American[ˈɡlɪmɚ] ~ [ˈɡlɪmɹ̩]General-American

  1. To shine with a faint, unsteady light.

    intransitive
    the glimmering dawn    a glimmering lamp
    The fireflies glimmered in the dark.
Where this word comes from

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.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.