Thesaurus results for TINKLE

tinkle 1 of 2

noun

Definition of tinkle

as in rattle

a series of short high ringing sounds the soothing tinkle of the wind chime on the back porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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tinkle

2 of 2

verb

ˈtiŋ-kəl

as in to clink

to make a repeated sharp light ringing sound the bell around the cat's neck tinkled as he ran across the yard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tinkle

Noun

From the moment that Jerry Goldsmith’s piano tinkles caress the opening bars of his score while stars float past the frame, anyone with a soul knows that this is not your average IP cash-in. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025 The water fountains are trickling; wind chimes tinkle and shimmer in the breeze, and the store’s seemingly endless lines of indoor and outdoor décor are available to celebrate each season and occasion. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025

Verb

As a teen-ager listening to folk music in London pubs, I’d been attracted to the instrument’s nimble, tinkling cheerfulness, its being on the margins, not too demanding, perhaps. — Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026 Accordingly, recognisable Western archetypes abound, from the saloon bar serving pungent shots of whiskey to the tinkling accompaniment of Scott Joplin, to the majority of the characters themselves. — Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tinkle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle

Noun

The noise and defense rattle Boley into four sacks and his first interception as a Sun Devil.

— Manny Navarro, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Servants called flappers are required to shake rattles in their ears to keep them from falling or bumping into things.

— Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rattle

Noun

That’s a much sweeter sound to All than the clatter of a vehicle knocking him to the ground on the streets of Greece this summer.

— Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
All night long there was the ringing clatter of picks and shovels; the Germans were digging trenches in the frozen ground.

— Vasily Grossman, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Definition of clatter

Verb

Just when things seemed too contentious and/or boring to a late-night viewer, Stewart knew when to jingle the keys in our face.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 July 2026
On the walls, a few pots hang from a copper rod, a dinner bell waits to be jingled, and an ancient clock keeps time.

— Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 2 July 2026

Definition of jingle

Noun

Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.

— Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021

Definition of tintinnabulation

Verb

In his exquisitely layered seventh feature, Possible Love (Ga-neung-han sa-rang), Lee Chang-dong’s humanistic observational skills remain at their peak, the acuity of his insights into emotional lives and social conditions unparalleled.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
The Scream saga began with a ringing phone and one of the most surprising murders in horror-movie history.

— Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of ring

Browse Nearby Words

tinker (with)

tinkle

tinkled

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“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of tinkle

noun

verb

Example Sentences

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