glimpse
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glimpse
- /ˈɡlɪm(p)s/
- [ˈɡl̥ɪm(p)s]
Rhymes with -ɪmps
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
Dutch glimp (“glimpse”, noun)
Middle Dutch glinsen (modern Dutch glinsteren (“to glint, glitter, shimmer, sparkle; to glance”), glimmen (“to gleam, shine”))
Middle High German glimsen (“to glow, smoulder”), glinsen (“to glimmer, shine”)
Middle Low German glinsen, glintzen, glinzen (“to shimmer, shine”)
verb glimpses · glimpsing · glimpsed · glimpse
- To see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely. Morning!—the Vestal Mother of the Sun / Seem'st thou to be, since from thy bosom born, / (Thou that first glimpsest—like a white-stoled nun!—) / He springeth forth—Oh! thou triumphal Morn!— / His race of glory and of joy to run; […]
- To perceive (something intangible) briefly and incompletely. I have only begun to glimpse the magnitude of the problem.
- Chiefly followed by at or upon: to look at briefly and incompletely; to glance. The door always opens directly into the kitchen, without any vestibule; and, glimpsing in, you see that a cottager's life must be the very plainest and homeliest that ever was lived by men and women.
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To shine with a faint, unsteady light; to glimmer, to shimmer.
O Lothſome place where I / Haue ſene and herd my dere / When in my hart her eye / Hath made her thought appere / By glimſing with ſuch grace / As fortune it ne would, / That laſten any ſpace, / Betwene vs lenger ſhould.
Similar: glitter, coruscate, flash, gleam, glisten, luster, sheen, shimmer, shine, sparkle
- To appear or start to appear, especially faintly or unclearly; to dawn. Straitvvaies on heapes the thronging cloudes ariſe, / As though the heauen vvere angry vvith the night, / Deformed ſhadovves, glimpſing in his ſight / As darkenes, for it vvould more darkened be, / Through thoſe poore crannies forcde it ſelfe to ſee.
- Sometimes followed by out: to provide a brief and incomplete look.
noun glimpses · glimse · glympse · glinse
- Chiefly followed by of: a brief and incomplete look. I only got a glimpse of the car, so I can tell you the colour but not the registration number.
- A brief, sudden flash of light; a glimmer. [W]hat may this meane, / That thou, dead corſe, againe in compleate ſteele, / Reuiſſits thus the glimſes of the Moone, / Making night hideous, and vve fooles of nature, / So horridely to ſhake our diſpoſition, / VVith thoughts beyond the reaches of our ſoules?
- A faint or imprecise idea; an inkling. Every surmise and vaticination of the mind is entitled to a certain respect, and we learn to prefer imperfect theories, and sentences, which contain glimpses of truth, to digested systems which have no one valuable suggestion.
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A brief, unspecified amount of time; a moment.
[…] Alwin smiled, / When aught that from his young lips archly fell / The gloomy film from Harold's eye beguiled; / And pleased for a glimpse appeared the woeful Childe.
Similar: bat of an eye, bit, blink of an eye, crack, eyeblink, flash, glimpse, half a mo, instant, jiff, jiffy, jot
- A faint (and often temporary) appearance; a tinge. Reuiued with a glimſe of grace old ſorowes to let fal, / The hidden ſtraines I know and ſecret ſnares of loue: / How ſoone a loke wil print a thought, that neuer may remoue.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: glance, glimmer, blink, gleam, flash, peek, glow, gaze, sight, perspective, outlook, look-see, view, vision, espy, aperçu
Translations
Every language
verb to see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely; to perceive (something intangible) briefly and incompletely
| Español | atisbar, entrever, ojear, vislumbrar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 瞥見 /瞥见 piējiàn |
| Português | vislumbrar |
| Français | entrevoir |
| Deutsch | entdecken, erhaschen |
| Italiano | intravedere |
| Ελληνικά | βλέπω φευγαλέα vlépo fevgaléa |
| Română | întrezări, zări |
| Русский | бе́гло взгляну́ть béglo vzgljanútʹ, гля́нуть gljánutʹ, уви́деть ме́льком uvídetʹ mélʹkom |
noun brief and incomplete look — see also glance, peek
| Español | atisbo |
|---|---|
| Português | olhadela |
| Français | aperçu |
| Deutsch | Blick |
| Italiano | occhiata, scorcio |
| Русский | бе́глый взгляд béglyj vzgljad |
| עברית | הצצה hatzatza |
noun brief, sudden flash of light — see also glimmer
| Português | relance |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Aufblitzen, Aufleuchten |
| Русский | проблеск problesk |
Talk about this word "glimpse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/glimpse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. glimpse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/glimpse "glimpse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/glimpse.Cite this
@misc{glimpse_2026,
title = {glimpse},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/glimpse},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
