- flicker
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ faint, slight, small, tiny▪
She caught the faintest flicker of amusement on his face.
▪ brief▪ sudden▪ last (often figurative)▪The police stamped out the last flickers of freedom.
▪ candleVERB + FLICKER▪ show▪ catch, notice, see▪ detect, feel▪She felt a brief flicker of jealousy.
FLICKER + VERB▪ cross sth▪A flicker of guilt crossed his face.
▪ catch sb's eye▪A flicker of movement caught her eye.
PREPOSITION▪ flicker of▪‘He'll soon be here,’ she thought, with a flicker of excitement.
▪She spoke without a flicker of fear.
PHRASES▪ the flicker of a candle, the flicker of a flame▪The brief flicker of a candle flame caught our eyes.
▪ a flicker of sb's/the eyes▪Her only reaction was a slight flicker of her eyes.
▪ a flicker of hope, a flicker of interest▪Stock markets showed barely a flicker of interest in the election result.
▪ a flicker of light, a flicker of movement▪He saw a flicker of light in the darkness.
▪ a flicker of recognition▪The witness stared at the accused but she showed not a flicker of recognition.
▪ a flicker of a smile▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}I noticed a flicker of a smile on her face.
verbADVERB▪ briefly, for a moment, momentarily▪ slightly▪ nervously▪Her eyes flickered nervously in anticipation.
▪ rapidly▪ off, out▪ on and off▪The lights flickered on and off.
PREPOSITION▪ across, over▪His gaze flickered over her.
PHRASES▪ flicker into life, flicker to life▪The television screen flickered into life.
▪ flicker open▪Kate's eyes flickered open.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
