twinkle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
twinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twinkled,
past participle, past
-
twinkling
present participle
-
to shine with a flickering gleam of light, as a star or distant light.
-
to sparkle in the light.
The diamond on her finger twinkled in the firelight.
-
(of the eyes) to be bright with amusement, pleasure, etc.
-
to move flutteringly and quickly, as flashes of light; flit.
-
Archaic. to wink; blink.
verb (used with object)
-
twinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twinkled,
past participle, past
-
twinkling
present participle
-
to emit (light) in intermittent gleams or flashes.
-
Archaic. to wink (the eyes or eyelids).
noun
-
twinkles
plural
-
a flickering or intermittent brightness or light.
-
a scintillating brightness in the eyes; sparkle.
-
the time required for a wink; a twinkling.
-
Archaic. a wink.
verb
-
to emit or reflect light in a flickering manner; shine brightly and intermittently; sparkle
twinkling stars
-
(of the eyes) to sparkle, esp with amusement or delight
-
rare to move about quickly
-
rare (also tr) to wink (the eyes); blink
noun
-
an intermittent gleam of light; flickering brightness; sparkle or glimmer
-
an instant
-
a rare word for wink 1
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
twinklesimple
-
twinklessimple
-
have twinkledperfect
-
has twinkledperfect
-
am twinklingprogressive
-
are twinklingprogressive
-
is twinklingprogressive
-
have been twinklingperfect progressive
-
has been twinklingperfect progressive
Past
-
twinkledsimple
-
had twinkledperfect
-
was twinklingprogressive
-
were twinklingprogressive
-
had been twinklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twinkle
before 900; Middle English twinklen (v.), Old English twinclian; see twink, -le
Explanation
To twinkle is to sparkle and shine with a flickering light. A night sky in a dark place appears to be filled with stars that twinkle, almost like diamonds in the sky. Stars aren't the only things that twinkle. People whose eyes seem to glimmer with a magical or playful charm can be described as having a twinkle in their eyes. Holiday lights that flicker and flash, gemstones that sparkle in the light, and shimmering fairy lights strung across a patio are examples of other things that twinkle.
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.
See Examples For:
“Breezy,” one of just a handful of truly catchy tunes on the set, has an easy strut that channels the twinkle of the LP “Diamonds and Pearls.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
It’s something that should have come up at your onboarding with the financial planner, even if you signed up with them a long time ago and retirement was only a twinkle in your eye.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
"You're not meant to be laughing, but you can see all your mates trying to make you laugh, and they've got that twinkle in their eye," she says.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
We’ve cleared the postcard phase of winter — the fat twinkle lights, the bow-strapped storefronts, the flattering first snow — but spring has not yet agreed to show up.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
I’ve always read about eyes twinkling and I remember my friends laughing and saying eyes can’t really twinkle.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
At almost every window, a candle or star-shaped decoration twinkles a sign of welcome.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2023
To reach phones on the ground, the satellite uses a large, reflective antenna roughly the size of a racquetball court that twinkles brightly as it orbits.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 13, 2022
At the top of each hour while lit, it twinkles thanks to 20,000 flashing bulbs.
From Reuters ● Sep. 13, 2022
When she does, you may appreciate Rodriguez's choice to tread lightly with her impression of Broadway's darling: She twinkles too emphatically at first but eases into the role as the series goes on.
From Salon ● May 14, 2021
For a moment, fading sunlight catches in the metal and twinkles.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
In the distance, the lights of the Southland twinkled underneath a scrim of haze.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024
The world leaders will gather for the meal at the Bharat Mandapam building, a sprawling exhibition center in the heart of New Delhi, which twinkled with blinking lights on Saturday night.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2023
In the adjacent shopping center, Christmas decorations twinkled overhead, but every second shop lay vacant, a sign of the area’s hard times.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
Beading on the first lady’s long-sleeved, navy, off-the-shoulder column gown twinkled; light danced in the gaps between the multitude of subtle flower appliqués that composed its outer silhouette.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
Up ahead, the streetlamps of Coney Island twinkled in the night sky.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
He goes full Elton on the single Hippie Sunshine, external, whose lairy, chanted chorus is suddenly interrupted by a twinkling piano breakdown.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
A canopy of candy-colored paper lanterns and twinkling lights hangs over a long dining table opposite the restaurant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The store’s front facade was wrapped in a giant plaid scarf made of 126,000 twinkling Christmas lights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
The audience rehashed its hunches, they circled potential suspects, they stared at a static image of a horrific crime scene, awash in twinkling moonlight.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
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
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.
