twinkle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to shine with a flickering gleam of light, as a star or distant light.
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to sparkle in the light.
The diamond on her finger twinkled in the firelight.
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(of the eyes) to be bright with amusement, pleasure, etc.
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to move flutteringly and quickly, as flashes of light; flit.
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Archaic. to wink; blink.
verb (used with object)
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to emit (light) in intermittent gleams or flashes.
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Archaic. to wink (the eyes or eyelids).
noun
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a flickering or intermittent brightness or light.
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a scintillating brightness in the eyes; sparkle.
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the time required for a wink; a twinkling.
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Archaic. a wink.
verb
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to emit or reflect light in a flickering manner; shine brightly and intermittently; sparkle
twinkling stars
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(of the eyes) to sparkle, esp with amusement or delight
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rare to move about quickly
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rare (also tr) to wink (the eyes); blink
noun
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an intermittent gleam of light; flickering brightness; sparkle or glimmer
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an instant
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a rare word for wink 1
Other Word Forms
- twinkler noun
- twinkly adjective
- untwinkled adjective
Etymology
Origin of twinkle
before 900; Middle English twinklen (v.), Old English twinclian; twink, -le
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Only Rowan and Allun saw that her hands were gripping her apron, twisting the white cloth, and that her eyes were twinkling not with laughter but with unshed tears.
From Literature
It was like staring into a field of fireflies, twinkling and blinking and vanishing and reappearing.
From Literature
Pa asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
From Literature
At one edge of the lake an arc of lights twinkled at a fair distance over the black water—a village, maybe a town.
From Literature
After the premiere of Season 1 at the Berlin International Film Festival, Le Carré sat across from Hiddleston, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Perhaps there should be some more.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
