flickered; flickering
ˈfli-k(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to move irregularly or unsteadily : flutter
Shadows flickered on the wall.
2
: to burn or shine fitfully or with a fluctuating light
a candle flickering in the window
3
: to appear or pass briefly or quickly
Thoughts flickered through his mind.
A smile flickered across her face.
1
a
: an act of flickering
b
: a sudden brief movement
the flicker of an eyelash
c
: a momentary quickening
a flicker of anger
d
: a slight indication : hint
a flicker of recognition
2
a
: a wavering light
the flicker of a candle
b
: a repeated momentary defect in a cathode-ray tube image caused especially by slow scanning of the screen
3
dated, informal
: movie
—often used in plural
: a large barred and spotted North American woodpecker (Colaptes auratus) with a brown back that commonly forages on the ground for ants compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker
Synonyms
Examples of flicker in a Sentence
Verb
A TV was flickering in the background.
The overhead light kept flickering off and on.
Thoughts flickered through his mind.
A smile flickered across her face.
Recent Examples on the Web
John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Aura includes visual changes, such as flickering lights, zigzag lines, and blind spots.7
Some people who experience aura also can have hearing disturbances, such as tinnitus (ringing in your ears), music, or noises.
—Yuliya Klochan, Health, 30 Mar. 2024
From a stage beneath the colorful domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the music was at times as loud as thunder and the red-brick walls of the Kremlin flickered with the lights of the stage.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024
More than one hundred small flames encased in blue glass flickered in the hands of mourners across a field in Odessa Sunday night for the candlelight vigil honoring Officer Cody Allen, 35, who died while on duty Thursday.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Candlelight flickers against the cabin wall as rain patters against the window.
—Samantha Laine Perfas, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2024
These are the steps, the motions, that send flickering lights down a long hallway of memories—the many hands that have made this family dish, the many kitchens where Amanda Arafat has seen shakshuka prepared.
—Jordan P. Hickey, Longreads, 22 Feb. 2024
The metal, fire-breathing beast grins into the flickering glare.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024
The ship was reportedly en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at around 1:24 a.m. EST when its lights flickered on and off at least twice prior to striking the structure.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2024
TIME, 5 Jan. 2024
Weinstein and his team saw a flicker of hope during that process, as some of the five judges expressed some contempt for what Burke had allowed in 2020.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2024
If Tom’s early days with Dickie flicker with the energy of a dynamo pulling him into his orbit, his time with Peter is tender, a moment of grace.
—Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024
No doubt a familiar flicker passes through her mind: this will be a great anecdote for my Oscar campaign.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
The evidence is ambiguous enough that, in October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to hold off on declaring the bird extinct, leaving it on the list of endangered species — and leaving its many admirers with a flicker of hope.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024
Billions of dollars can change hands inside these rooms without a flicker of news coverage ever appearing.
—Jesse Barron, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
The hope is that her faces will trigger a flicker of recognition in the general public, and wham—another cold case cracked.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Energy company Con Edison reported a short flicker in voltage on Thursday night due to equipment failure at the Farragut Substation in Brooklyn.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 15 Dec. 2023
Verb
As skies darkened Monday over North America during a rare solar eclipse, many people noticed bright dots — flickering spots that were reddish, pink and orange in hue — along the periphery of the moon and Sun.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Aura includes visual changes, such as flickering lights, zigzag lines, and blind spots.7
Some people who experience aura also can have hearing disturbances, such as tinnitus (ringing in your ears), music, or noises.
—Yuliya Klochan, Health, 30 Mar. 2024
From a stage beneath the colorful domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the music was at times as loud as thunder and the red-brick walls of the Kremlin flickered with the lights of the stage.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024
More than one hundred small flames encased in blue glass flickered in the hands of mourners across a field in Odessa Sunday night for the candlelight vigil honoring Officer Cody Allen, 35, who died while on duty Thursday.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Candlelight flickers against the cabin wall as rain patters against the window.
—Samantha Laine Perfas, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2024
These are the steps, the motions, that send flickering lights down a long hallway of memories—the many hands that have made this family dish, the many kitchens where Amanda Arafat has seen shakshuka prepared.
—Jordan P. Hickey, Longreads, 22 Feb. 2024
The metal, fire-breathing beast grins into the flickering glare.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024
The ship was reportedly en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at around 1:24 a.m. EST when its lights flickered on and off at least twice prior to striking the structure.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2024
Noun
By Brian Bennett January 4, 2024 7:27 PM EST
In President Biden’s first major campaign ad of 2024, piano chords build as images of people voting flicker by.
—TIME, 5 Jan. 2024
Weinstein and his team saw a flicker of hope during that process, as some of the five judges expressed some contempt for what Burke had allowed in 2020.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2024
If Tom’s early days with Dickie flicker with the energy of a dynamo pulling him into his orbit, his time with Peter is tender, a moment of grace.
—Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024
No doubt a familiar flicker passes through her mind: this will be a great anecdote for my Oscar campaign.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
The evidence is ambiguous enough that, in October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to hold off on declaring the bird extinct, leaving it on the list of endangered species — and leaving its many admirers with a flicker of hope.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024
Billions of dollars can change hands inside these rooms without a flicker of news coverage ever appearing.
—Jesse Barron, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
The hope is that her faces will trigger a flicker of recognition in the general public, and wham—another cold case cracked.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Energy company Con Edison reported a short flicker in voltage on Thursday night due to equipment failure at the Farragut Substation in Brooklyn.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 15 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flicker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near flicker
Cite this Entry
“Flicker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flicker. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flicker
2 of 3 noun1
: an act of flickering
2
: a brief stirring
a flicker of interest
3
: a flickering light
flicker
3 of 3 noun
: a large insect-eating North American woodpecker with a black crescent on the breast and yellow or red on the underside of the wings and tail compare red-shafted flicker, yellow-shafted flicker
Medical Definition
flicker
noun
flick·er
ˈflik-ər
: the wavering or fluttering visual sensation produced by intermittent light when the interval between flashes is not small enough to produce complete fusion of the individual impressions
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