tinkled

verb

past tense of tinkle
as in clinked
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

Relevance

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 tinkled The bell tinkled, but this time the shelves were empty. — Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkled
  1. clinked
  2. jingled
  3. rang
  4. tingled
  5. rattled
Verb
  • Ulloa stood up and clinked his glass to quiet the group.
    — Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 2 June 2026
  • Our buckteeth clinked painfully.
    — Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Definition of clinked
Verb
  • 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
  • The bells that dangled off her red tunic jingled.
    — Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of jingled
Verb
  • Minutes after the fight ended, a lone 911 caller rang authorities to report the brawl.
    — Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • According to the arrest report, detectives then found surveillance video showing the outside of the victim’s home moments before the two kidnappers rang the doorbell.
    — KFOX Staff, Baltimore Sun, 25 Dec. 2024
Definition of rang
Verb
  • The only recourse those unregulated bookmakers had when their Spidey-senses tingled was to simply stop taking bets on the suspicious game.
    — David Hill, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Definition of tingled
Verb
  • Earlier this year, a strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico, killing two.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
  • We’re not rattled by the market reaction and believe the reasons to like J & J remain intact.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 15 July 2026
Definition of rattled

Browse Nearby Words

tinkle
tinkled
tinkles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tinkled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkled. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on tinkled

Nglish: Translation of tinkled for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of itinerant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All