as in minute
a very small space of time
in just a twinkle, the shooting star was gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to gleam
to shoot forth bursts of light
stars twinkling on a crisp September night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of twinkle
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
Seated with his fellow rotation mates on a plastic chair behind a row of cameras, Skubal looked on with a childlike twinkle in his eye.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Rachel Marlowe, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026
Greer, South Carolina Located in upstate South Carolina with a population hovering around 50,000, Greer has maintained a small-town atmosphere with a revitalized downtown area, easy pedestrian access, and attractive twinkling lights.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for twinkle
Noun
The trek up the swinging staircase, twinkle lights clinking with each step, had my heart pounding for more reason than one.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
Seated with his fellow rotation mates on a plastic chair behind a row of cameras, Skubal looked on with a childlike twinkle in his eye.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Verb
As the crowd filed in, DJs Doppelganger Paris—identical twins Brice and Régis Abby—were already on the decks, accompanied by Grammy-winning pianist Brian Kennedy, the city lights twinkling behind them.
—Rachel Marlowe, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026
Greer, South Carolina Located in upstate South Carolina with a population hovering around 50,000, Greer has maintained a small-town atmosphere with a revitalized downtown area, easy pedestrian access, and attractive twinkling lights.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for twinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for twinkle
Noun
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About 10 minutes through the frame, the Avs briefly took the lead when Ross Colton batted a rebound out of the air and into the net off a deflection from the weak side.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2026
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The Bruins tied the score early in the third period and pushed for about the next 10 minutes, but the Flyers, buoyed by 18 saves from Dan Vladar, maintained their composure and eventually pushed back.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There are blinking bacteria, flaming fungus, shimmering squid, and flashing fish.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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But someone might want to mention to the president that flashing a big gold statue of himself while cities are still doing cleanup from enormous No Kings marches might seem funny to some.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Stars gleam and fade away fast, but the statues of two heartthrobs who died young and left good-looking corpses have lasted decades after their deaths.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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His beans are on the menus of many top Bay Area restaurants, and a gleaming flagship store that opened in downtown Napa last week could be seen as a culmination of his 25 years of influence.—
Tara Duggan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But Herndon knew his heartbeat — his love of family, faith and Kansas City.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
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Zack James’ shifty drumming hammers out a drum ’n’ bass redux like a panicked heartbeat while Carney Hemler’s bass lurches in slow motion, replicating the gut drop of a horrible realization.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Meis moves from the Baroque virtuosity of Rubens’s study of a drunken mythological figure, through the jagged modernist puzzle of Marc’s allegorical animals, to Mitchell’s painterly abstractions and their flickering landscape allusions.—
Jed Perl,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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For years, my bedroom TV was a heavy, buzzing relic from my college days that required a specific magic tap on the side just to stop the screen from flickering.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The sparkling Sun in your 9th House of Exploration squares cheery Jupiter in your 12th House of Rest, pitting adventure against recovery.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
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Shinery takes your jewelry from dirty and dull to sparkling and shining.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The head coach of Michigan men’s basketball finally broke into a wide smile during the final seconds, holding a lone finger in the air at the end.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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Decatur was down 2 points and Style, who battled turnover trouble earlier in the game, was set to inbound with seconds remaining.—
Charles Baggarly
April 7,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the gutter, the usual New Orleans blend of litter and live-oak leaves was topped by a shimmering layer of pink fish scales glinting in the sun.—
Daniel Brook,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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The path down is picturesque, but peppered with black snakes glinting in the sun.—
Kristina Kasparian,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Twinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twinkle. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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