shimmer

[ shim-er ]

verb (used without object)

1. to shine with or reflect a subdued, tremulous light; gleam faintly.

   Synonyms: glimmer

2. to appear to quiver or vibrate in faint light or while reflecting heat waves.

noun

1. a subdued, tremulous light or gleam.
2. a quivering or vibrating motion or image as produced by reflecting faint light or heat waves.

shimmer

/ ˈʃɪmə /

verb

1. intr to shine with a glistening or tremulous light

noun

1. a faint, glistening, or tremulous light

Derived Forms

• ˈshimmeringly, adverb
• ˈshimmering, adjective

Other Words From

• shimmer·ing·ly adverb
• un·shimmer·ing adjective
• un·shimmer·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of shimmer¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English schimeren, s(c)hemeren, Old English scimrian; cognate with Dutch schemeren, German schimmern “to glisten”

Word History and Origins

Origin of shimmer¹

Old English scimerian; related to Middle Low German schēmeren to grow dark, Old Norse skimi brightness

Synonym Study

See glisten.

Example Sentences

The lively canvas, hardly an illustration of an event, employs light-reflective silver and golden-brown metallic paints applied in vast fields of paisley-like commas that dematerialize into a spatially ambiguous surface shimmer.

From Los Angeles Times

Seen from above, the industrial-scale warehouses straddling Interstate 215 where it intersects Mead Valley shimmer like a sprawling lake of white concrete boxes.

From Los Angeles Times

The recording-breaking US artist certainly made the Principality Stadium shimmer, wowing fans with her Eras Tour setlist for more than three hours.

From BBC

They shimmer and glint like diamonds in the breezy air.

From Seattle Times

But some of these organisms shimmer with the radiant blue-green of peacock feathers, thanks to cellular structures similar to those that give opals their iridescent brilliance, researchers report this month in the European Journal of Phycology.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• gleam
• glint
• glow
• shine
• sparkle
• twinkle