in the twinkling of an eye

Idioms  

1. In an instant, as in The breakup of Yugoslavia created many warring nations in the twinkling of an eye. This hyperbolic expression, which alludes to the very brief time it takes for an eye to blink, is heard less often today. [c. 1300]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in the twinkling of an eye

In the words of St. Paul, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”

From The Verge ● Jul. 10, 2020

A line from "Messiah" proclaims: “We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”

From US News ● Dec. 23, 2014

The map of life is changed in the twinkling of an eye.

From Time Magazine Archive

The "great leap forward" that was to make China a major industrial power in the twinkling of an eye has instead produced something close to chaos.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the change that now came into my life, into all our lives, blasting its way into our village, seemed wrought in the twinkling of an eye.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya