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
Talarico blinked and widened his eyes, gauging the room.
—
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The emails show how easily some digital media figures and companies were taken advantage of; publications that were publishing hundreds of articles a day hardly blinked when a positive article about a financier showed up, or a serious-sounding foundation official asked for an image tweak.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
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
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
Never blinked, never had any doubts and 1000% believed from the beginning.
—Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Nov. 2025
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The emails show how easily some digital media figures and companies were taken advantage of; publications that were publishing hundreds of articles a day hardly blinked when a positive article about a financier showed up, or a serious-sounding foundation official asked for an image tweak.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
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
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
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
-
Young and old alike succumbed to a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis, the same microbe responsible for the Black Death seven centuries later.—
Durrie Bouscaren,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Sharia law waned in influence as many Arab lands succumbed to foreign domination.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Brown sprinted to Parker’s bench, stared at the Mission Hills football players and brought her right index finger to her lips.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
As the Republican applause continued, the president stared in their direction, with a disgusted look on his face.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Candlelight flickered against vibrant tanzanite, sky blue topaz and canary yellow diamonds on Tuesday night at Sunset Tower Hotel, where Pomellato gathered brand ambassadors and celebrity stylists to mark the reopening of its Beverly Hills flagship, unveiled in October.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Officers captured the scene using a drone, which showed the man balancing on the unicycle as flames flickered just feet from passing vehicles.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 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
-
The Red Wings have a +one scoring differential, with 174 total goals scored and 173 conceded.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Instead, their buffer is only four and their remarkable defensive record is ever-so-slightly less remarkable, with seven goals conceded in 23 league games.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Too Much actress gazed at the camera while sitting on a velvet couch, her white bathrobe strategically arranged to add some subtle coverage to the intimate photo.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Yoon’s lawyers reject conviction An expressionless Yoon gazed straight ahead as the judge delivered the sentence in the same courtroom where former military rulers and presidents have been convicted of treason, corruption and other crimes over the decades.—
Kim Tong-Hyung,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blinked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blinked. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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