Synonyms for glimmer

26 synonyms
8 antonyms
1 meaning

verb
noun

Most common

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

gleam, shimmer, flicker, glitter, sparkle, glimpse, twinkle, sheen, glisten, spark, flash, ghost, beam, flimmer, glint, glance, scintillate

Noun

1. Hint

hint, inkling, intimation

Other

scintilla, gleaming, iota, comfort, loom, scintillation

Antonyms

blaze, glare, flood

All antonyms of glimmer →

Definitions

v. 1
To shine with a faint, unsteady light.
The fireflies glimmered in the dark.
n. 1
A faint light; a dim glow.
The glimmer of the fireflies was pleasant to watch.

Related words

Phrases: glimmer of hope

Forms

Plural: glimmers → hints, inklings, intimations, scintillae…
Past participle: glimmered
e.g. glimmered → gleamed, shimmered, flickered, glittered…

Choose the right word

Glimmer, Glitter, Shimmer or Light?

Glimmer, glitter, and shimmer denote wavering light. We speak of the glimmer of distant lamps through the mist; of the shimmer of waves in sunlight or moonlight.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

glitter Just a little more glitter here, and we're done.
flicker I noticed a flicker of hesitation in their eyes.
shimmer The heat haze made the road shimmer in the distance.
gleam She's happy and you can tell by the gleam in her eyes.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
glimmer		rising
glitter		rising
flicker		rising
shimmer		rising
gleam		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: beam¹, hint¹, loom¹, iota³
5 letters: flash¹, ghost¹, spark¹, sheen¹, gleam¹, glint¹
6 letters: glance¹
7 letters: comfort², glimpse¹, glitter², sparkle², twinkle², flicker², shimmer², inkling², glisten², flimmer
8 letters: gleaming²
9 letters: scintilla³
10 letters: intimation⁴
11 letters: scintillate
13 letters: scintillation

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (iota³ = 3 syllables).

In other languages

Français: resplendir
Español: resplandecer
Català: resplendir