Meaning
Shimmer means to shine with a soft, wavering, or flickering light — not a strong or steady glow, but a gentle, trembling brightness. It can also refer to the appearance of something faintly shining or glimmering.
Part of Speech:
- Verb (intransitive): to shine with a gentle, flickering light
- Noun: a soft or faint shine
Grammar and Usage
Verb form: shimmer – shimmered – shimmering Used intransitively (no direct object).
Common structure:
- shimmer + with + (something) → “The lake shimmered with reflected light.”
Noun form:
- a shimmer of + (something) → “A shimmer of gold dust.”
Common Phrases
- shimmer with light – softly shine with light
- a shimmer of hope – a small or faint sign of hope
- under the shimmer of the stars – beneath the gentle light of stars
Collocations
- silver shimmer
- soft shimmer
- moonlight shimmer
- shimmer of heat
- eyes shimmered with tears
Examples
- The ocean shimmered under the bright moon.
- Her dress shimmered with thousands of tiny sequins.
- A shimmer of heat rose from the desert floor.
- His eyes shimmered with emotion as he spoke.
- The leaves shimmered in the morning dew.
- The candlelight shimmered across the glass table.
- The horizon shimmered in the summer haze.
- A shimmer of gold appeared on the water’s surface.
Synonyms or Related
- gleam
- glimmer
- sparkle
- glisten
- twinkle
Antonym
- dull
- fade
- darken