i Register
In some senses, flicker is marked as figuratively, US, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.
flicker
UK /ˈflɪkə/ US /ˈflɪkɚ/
noun 5verb 3name 1
Definitions
noun
1
An unsteady flash of light.
the flicker of the dying candle
the flicker of an old movie
2
A short moment.
a flicker of emotion
a flicker of hope
verb
1
To burn or shine unsteadily, or with a wavering light.
The shadows flicker to and fro.
Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, […]
2
To keep going on and off; to appear and disappear for short moments; to flutter.
A strong desire to smash up everything in the room kept flickering in his head.
There I lay on one side with a thin and rotten plank between the dead man and me, dazed with the blow to my head, and breathing hard; while the glow of torches as they came down the passage reddened and flickered on the roof above.
3
To flutter or flap.
And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing.
But the child saw her; was it possible? He turned his head towards her, and flickered his baby hands, and cooed with that indescribable voice that goes to every woman's heart.
noun
1
Any of certain small woodpeckers, especially of the genus Colaptes.
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