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shimmer

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb shimmer contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of shimmer are flash, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter, and sparkle. While all these words mean "to send forth light," shimmer means shining with a wavering light.

a shimmering satin dress

When is it sensible to use flash instead of shimmer?

The meanings of flash and shimmer largely overlap; however, flash implies a sudden outburst of bright light.

lightning flashed

When can gleam be used instead of shimmer?

While in some cases nearly identical to shimmer, gleam suggests a steady light seen through an obscuring medium or against a dark background.

lights gleamed in the valley

When could glimmer be used to replace shimmer?

In some situations, the words glimmer and shimmer are roughly equivalent. However, glimmer suggests a faint or wavering gleam.

a distant glimmering light

Where would glint be a reasonable alternative to shimmer?

The words glint and shimmer are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glint implies a cold glancing light.

glinting steel

In what contexts can glisten take the place of shimmer?

The words glisten and shimmer can be used in similar contexts, but glisten applies to the soft sparkle from a wet or oily surface.

glistening wet sidewalk

When might glitter be a better fit than shimmer?

While the synonyms glitter and shimmer are close in meaning, glitter connotes a brilliant sparkling or gleaming.

glittering diamonds

When would sparkle be a good substitute for shimmer?

Although the words sparkle and shimmer have much in common, sparkle suggests innumerable moving points of bright light.

the sparkling waters

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shimmer
Verb
Brittany, 29, donned a shimmering silver fringe mini dress with knee-high boots that paid homage to Swift's Fearless album. Gil MacIas, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024 Anne Hathaway shimmered at the opening ceremony of Bulgari’s Serpenti Infinito Exhibition on Wednesday in Shanghai, celebrating the upcoming Year of the Snake in the lunar calendar. Julia Teti, WWD, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
Though my favorite scent is sadly no longer available, there are three other options to choose from: Fenty Fresh (light and fruity), Fenty Fresh Shimmer (light and fruity with shimmer), or Toasted Marshmallow (warm with a gold shimmer). Kiana Murden, Vogue, 18 Dec. 2024 And unless my eyes deceive me, the shine is turned up to 11 thanks to shimmer in her middle part. Marci Robin, Allure, 8 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for shimmer 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shimmer
Verb
  • Four lowriders, parked alongside gas pumps, gleamed in the afternoon sun in Altadena.
    Ken Bensinger, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Venus and Saturn will appear in the southwest, Jupiter will gleam overhead, and Mars will appear to rise in the east.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • It's packed with rice powder, a chef's kiss of skin-loving enzymes and vitamins (A, B2, B12, and E) that soften, brighten, and give your skin a plump, healthy glow.
    Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 23 Jan. 2025
  • When touched, its hood and tail glow with a constellation of blue-green dots like an underwater planetarium.
    Jude Coleman, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Icons glitter, shimmy, bounce, and in other ways evade the chasing eye.
    Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Jan. 2025
  • His videos, often set to soft music, capture the Everglades in cinematic splendor – slow-motion footage of streaks of sunlight glittering on gators and schools of gar underwater.
    Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 11 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • By the end of February, Saturn will be obscured by the glare of the sun.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Until recently, Greenland's 56,000 citizens went about their lives on the sparsely populated mid-Atlantic island far from the glare of international attention.
    Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • With this final step, your appliance should be sparkling.
    Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Hamels, Lester and Price sparkled in the World Series.
    Tyler Kepner, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • But, in recent years, the utopian sheen has been stripped away, which casts doubt on the idea that social media benefits children enough to outweigh its harms.
    Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2025
  • The annual address is typically a mixture of political stagecraft and rhetoric that puts a sheen on the mayor’s record and lays out a vision for the future.
    Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • When an extreme gust of wind sent the helicopter plunging around 100 feet, an emergency light on the dashboard flashed a warning that the transmission box was out of oil.
    Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Another reason may be the notifications about spending and account balances that flash up on a consumer's watch or phone after payment.
    Bill Hardekopf, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Enormous silver machines glinted under fluorescent lights.
    Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Daphne Guinness—in a blazer from McGirr’s first McQueen collection scattered with glinting jet stone—picks her way through the TikTokers and ring lights to breathlessly invite McGirr to dissect her collection of Victoriana, just as Lee did in the noughties.
    Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near shimmer

Cite this Entry

“Shimmer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shimmer. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

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