flash

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. i. flare, blaze; burst, streak; gleam, scintillate; retort. See light.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Sudden, brief light]

Syn. glimmer, sparkle, glitter, glisten, scintillation, gleam, glance, beam, coruscation, blaze, flicker, flare, flame, glare, burst, impulse, vision, imprint, display, dazzle, shimmer, shine, glow, twinkle, twinkling, phosphorescence, reflection, bedazzlement, radiation, ray, luster, spark, streak, pencil, stream, illumination, incandescence.

2. [Brief, important news]

Syn. bulletin, dispatch, report; see news 1 , 2 .

Syn.- flash implies a sudden, brief, brilliant light; glance refers to a darting light, esp. one that is reflected from a surface at an angle; gleam suggests a steady, narrow ray of light shining through a background of relative darkness; sparkle implies a number of brief, bright, intermittent flashes; glitter implies the reflection of such bright, intermittent flashes; glisten suggests the reflection of a lustrous light, as from a wet surface; shimmer refers to a soft, tremulous reflection, as from a slightly disturbed body of water v.

1. [To give forth a light by flashing]

Syn. glimmer, sparkle, glitter, glisten, scintillate, gleam, beam, coruscate, blaze, flame, flare, glare, dazzle, shimmer, shine, glow, twinkle, blink, phosphoresce, reflect, bedazzle, radiate, shoot out beams, shed luster, flicker, glance; see also shine 1 , 2 .

2. [To move with the speed of a flash]

Syn. speed, flit, shoot, fly; see run 2 , speed .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. flare streak, burst, blaze, glint, flame, radiance, strobe, coruscation, illumination, spark, scintillation, glow, discharge, explosion.

2. instant second, *heartbeat, *blink of an eye, jiffy.

II

v.

strobe, blink, fulgurate, flicker, flare, shine, scintillate, glow, glint, shimmer.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To emit light suddenly in rays or sparks: coruscate, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, spangle, sparkle, twinkle, wink. See LIGHT. 2. To shine with intermittent gleams: blink, flicker, glimmer, twinkle, wink. See CONTINUE, LIGHT. 3. To move swiftly: bolt, bucket, bustle, dart, dash, festinate, fleet, flit, fly, haste, hasten, hurry, hustle, pelt2, race, rocket, run, rush, sail, scoot, scour2, shoot, speed, sprint, tear1, trot, whirl, whisk, whiz, wing, zip, zoom. Informal: hotfoot, rip. Slang: barrel, highball. Chiefly British: nip1. Idioms: get a move on, get cracking, go like lightning, go like the wind, hotfoot it, make haste, make time, make tracks, run like the wind, shake a leg, step (or jump) on it. See MOVE. 4. To make a public and usually ostentatious show of: brandish, display, disport, exhibit, expose, flaunt, parade, show (off), sport. See SHOW. II noun 1. A sudden quick light: blink, coruscation, flicker, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, spark1, twinkle, wink. See LIGHT. 2. Sparkling, brilliant light: glint, glisten, glister, glitter, scintillation, shimmer, sparkle. See BEAUTIFUL, LIGHT. 3. A very brief time: crack, instant, minute1, moment, second1, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink. Informal: jiff, jiffy. Chiefly British: tick. See BIG, TIME.