1
as in twinkled
to shine with light at regular intervals
she loves to sit in the dark and watch the lights on the Christmas tree blink in ever-changing patterns
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
3
as in succumbed
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control)
for two days the nations stood on the brink of war, until one finally blinked
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in stared
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
stood blinking at the ridiculous scene before him in utter disbelief
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blinked
By 2025, those places blinked out like starlight.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
The Horns blinked for four minutes.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 18 Jan. 2026
Furbys — fuzzy creatures that blinked their large eyes and talked — came along in the ’90s, when digital pets, Tamagotchi, also were all the rage.
—Queenie Wong, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
Paddington sauntered onstage and blinked.
—Anna Russell, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
At the last moment, Paramount blinked and let the rights lapse.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 12 Dec. 2025
Growth usually solves all for Wall Street and Lululemon and McDonald earned the benefit of the doubt from investors, who hardly blinked when the company’s $500 million pandemic-era deal to buy Mirror, an in-home fitness company, went south.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 11 Dec. 2025
Some were clad in neon string lights that blinked to an unknown beat.
—Charlotte Observer, 24 Nov. 2025
Never blinked, never had any doubts and 1000% believed from the beginning.
—Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Nov. 2025
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
The Horns blinked for four minutes.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 18 Jan. 2026
Furbys — fuzzy creatures that blinked their large eyes and talked — came along in the ’90s, when digital pets, Tamagotchi, also were all the rage.
—Queenie Wong, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
Paddington sauntered onstage and blinked.
—Anna Russell, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
At the last moment, Paramount blinked and let the rights lapse.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 12 Dec. 2025
Growth usually solves all for Wall Street and Lululemon and McDonald earned the benefit of the doubt from investors, who hardly blinked when the company’s $500 million pandemic-era deal to buy Mirror, an in-home fitness company, went south.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 11 Dec. 2025
Some were clad in neon string lights that blinked to an unknown beat.
—Charlotte Observer, 24 Nov. 2025
Never blinked, never had any doubts and 1000% believed from the beginning.
—Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blinked
Verb
-
Coakley’s eyes twinkled with a sense of pride.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
-
For his 2024 display, more than 900,000 lights twinkled and glowed around his property, so expect many more this season.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Giles cranked the boat back around, leaned out from behind the steering wheel and squinted past a bright glare on the water.—
Kelso Harper,
Scientific American,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Amid the eucalyptus groves at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, local bug enthusiast Sasha Hernandez squinted through the draping green leaves, searching for flashes of black and orange — the wings of migratory monarch butterflies traveling from west of the Rocky Mountains.—
Olivia Maule,
Mercury News,
6 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries, while Wolfe was critically injured and remains hospitalized.—
Rachel Wolf , Jake Gibson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas, who has a recurring habit of looking at the final month of a lost season and projecting a short window of success into next year’s team-building plan, finally succumbed to reality.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The two men, in their respective corners, stared each other down.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Both stared in my direction, looking surprised at the chance for free food out here.—
David Zeug,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In reality, whatever magic had briefly flickered tended to vanish just as quickly.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Streetlights flickered before large parts of the city were plunged into darkness, as a thick fog settled over the streets and temperatures plummeted to –5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).—
Kosta Gak,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Stayton then reportedly winked and told the protester they'd be charged with a felony.—
Jolene Almendarez,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
12 Nov. 2025
-
Farther up, on Observatory Hill, tall cryptomeria trees were silhouetted in the darkening evening, and down in the valleys, lights winked on like reflections of the planets and stars appearing in the sky.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Gradually, concessions were secured, culminating in elections that the violent regimes lost and ultimately conceded.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The court conceded the presence or appearance of corruption when a politician takes a lot of campaign money from a single individual.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As organizers headed back to their vehicles Friday, Pepe de la Torre, 64, ate a red apple and gazed at the crowd.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Accentuating her features with her signature brown smoky eyeshadow, matte mauve lipstick, and a pink flush on her cheekbones, Kylie puffed on a cigarette and gazed into the camera’s lens as the shot faded to black.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blinked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blinked. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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