shimmer

[shim-er] /ˈʃɪm ər/
verb (used without object)
1.
to shine with or reflect a subdued, tremulous light; gleam faintly.
2.
to appear to quiver or vibrate in faint light or while reflecting heat waves.
noun
3.
a subdued, tremulous light or gleam.
4.
a quivering or vibrating motion or image as produced by reflecting faint light or heat waves.
Origin
before 1100; Middle English schimeren, s(c)hemeren, Old English scimrian; cognate with Dutch schemeren, German schimmern to glisten
Related forms
shimmeringly, adverb
unshimmering, adjective
unshimmeringly, adverb
Synonyms
1. glimmer. See glisten.
Examples from the web for shimmer
  • Distinctiveness is key for the many colleges that lack the shimmer of national prestige, not to mention a football team.
  • Slowly the dawn began, and again she seemed to see the shimmer of a face-such a face as one sees in the coals of a dying fire.
  • And there actually were mothers in those jars-the barest shimmer on the surface.
  • The picture invites a contemplative mood, during which the colours seem to shimmer.
  • The words will shimmer on the screen, but the sentences will be quickly forgotten.
  • The pearly outer sheathing is translucent, obscuring the glowing interior and giving it a muffled shimmer.
  • The planet won't shimmer its brightest until next month.
  • Not everything the lab looks at is as subtle as a shimmer, though.
  • Dark alleys shimmer with multicolored silks, shot through with gold thread or spangled with sequins.
  • It was a sweltering day to begin with, but the added heat of the lingering fire made everything around us shimmer.
British Dictionary definitions for shimmer

shimmer

/ˈʃɪmə/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to shine with a glistening or tremulous light
noun
2.
a faint, glistening, or tremulous light
Derived Forms
shimmering, adjective
shimmeringly, adverb
Word Origin
Old English scimerian; related to Middle Low German schēmeren to grow dark, Old Norse skimi brightness
Word Origin and History for shimmer
v.

Old English scimerian "to glitter, shimmer, glisten, shine," related to (perhaps a frequentative of) scimian "to shine," from Proto-Germanic *skim- (cf. Swedish skimra, Dutch schemeren "to glitter," German schimmern), from PIE root *skai- "to gleam, to shine" (see shine (v.). Related: Shimmered; shimmering.

n.

"a tremulous light," 1821, from shimmer (v.).