unblinking
Americanadjective
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not blinking.
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without displaying response, as surprise, confusion, or chagrin.
an unblinking reaction to the charges.
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not varying or wavering; fearless; forthright.
unblinking devotion.
adjective
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without blinking
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showing no visible response or emotion
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not wavering through trepidation or fear
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unblinking
Explanation
Someone who stays calm and unemotional is unblinking. The unblinking gaze of your social studies teacher may be enough to quiet the entire class. This adjective is also useful for eyes that literally don't blink: "The lizard's unblinking eyes made me nervous, so I covered the cage." You can also use it to mean "brave or unflinching," like an unblinking warrior who marches into battle with her sword raised. This word is composed of the prefix un- ("not" or "opposite of") and the verb blink, which may come from the Middle Dutch blinken, "to glitter."
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.
Second, maintain “an unblinking eye that looks 50 miles on either side of the Strait and 100 miles back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The unblinking eye provides 360 degree coverage from the Arctic to North Africa, and from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
Blichfeldt films all this with an unblinking eye, satirizing the lengths women go to in order to reach the standards of beauty they feel they must achieve.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
Cordelia Cupp on Netflix’s Shondaland-produced screwball caper “The Residence,” premiering Thursday, Aduba plays an extremely perceptive, bird-watching investigator whose unconventional methods and unblinking looks help solve a White House murder mystery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
And yet I keep thinking about him, and thinking about his eyes unblinking in Frenchy's, waiting for someone who didn't exist.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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.
