flickering means shining unsteadily or varying rapidly in brightness (referring to a light or a source of light). It carries an Arena rating of 1656, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, flickering ranks #1,318 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,523 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,978 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,096 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
flickering is pronounced /ˈflɪkəɹɪŋ/.
Why “flickering” is a great word
A light or flame that shines unsteadily or varies rapidly in brightness. From the verb ‘flicker’ (to burn or shine unsteadily), of Old English origin and related to Old Norse ‘flökra’ (to flutter), combined with the present participle suffix ‘-ing’; first recorded as an adjective in 1849. Unlike ‘twinkling’ (which implies a rhythmic, celestial shimmer) or ‘steady’ (which denotes an unwavering constancy), flickering suggests an intrinsic instability—the guttering candle in a drafty corridor, the dying bulb in a forgotten cellar, the last ember breathing its intermittent glow. It is light’s fragile negotiation with the dark, a transient fight against extinction, each pulse a small defiance and a reminder of its own provisional nature.
adj
- shining unsteadily or varying rapidly in brightness (referring to a light or a source of light)
noun
- A short, uncertain burst.e.g.“Even after the acrimonious breakup, she still felt flickerings of love for him.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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