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.
Noun (1)
as a child, the future director would spend hours sitting in the theater, totally entranced by the flickers
usually there's a flicker in car sales when the new models come out
there was a flicker of recognition in her eye when I mentioned his name, but she denied knowing him
Recent Examples on the Web
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
Inside, the space evokes a rustic cottage, where Korean and French titles line bookshelves and an artificial fireplace flickers in the corner.
—Vivian Song, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2025
Dillingham doesn’t have to squint to see the flicker down that long corridor.
—Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flicker 
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Verb
The human experience has changed a lot lately: Creativity can be outsourced to AI, culture lives in flickering fragments on screens, and we social animals are spending tons of time alone.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
Inside, the space evokes a rustic cottage, where Korean and French titles line bookshelves and an artificial fireplace flickers in the corner.
—Vivian Song, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Noun
As auroras form, Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles through a process that produces a stunning display of rays, spirals and flickers that have fascinated humans for millennia.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2025
Dillingham doesn’t have to squint to see the flicker down that long corridor.
—Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flicker
Articles Related to flicker
Dictionary Entries Near flicker
Cite this Entry
“Flicker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flicker. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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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