shimmer

/ˈʃɪmər/

/ˈʃɪmə/

Other forms: shimmering; shimmered; shimmers

When you shimmer you shine, although sometimes quite weakly.

A shimmer is small and sometimes weak, and in danger of going out, but it's there all the same and often beautiful. You know how silk catches the light and shines in lovely ways? That's a shimmer. How about when you feel like it's the end of the world but there's a little piece of you that believes things are going to get better? That's a shimmer of hope. Or when you open a door to a dark room and the light from the hall falls into the darkness? That's a shimmer of light.

Definitions of shimmer

1. verb

   shine with a weak or fitful light
   “Beech leaves shimmered in the moonlight”

   type of:

   beam, shine

   emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light
2. verb

   give off a shimmering reflection, as of silk
   type of:

   gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, shine

   be shiny, as if wet
3. noun

   a weak and tremulous light
   “the shimmer of colors on iridescent feathers”

   synonyms: play

   type of:

   alteration, change, modification

   an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another