twinkled

verb

past tense of twinkle
1
as in flashed
to shine with light at regular intervals holiday decorations twinkled in the shop windows

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in gleamed
to shoot forth bursts of light stars twinkling on a crisp September night

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 twinkled And for a slight moment, his eyes twinkled underneath the LED lights inside the Kansas City Royals clubhouse. — Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026 Before a big night out or even just dinner with friends, lids twinkled, cheekbones caught the light from every angle, and lip gloss doubled as a mirror. — Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026 Animated pixie dust twinkled on the screen, courtesy of the fairy, Tinker Bell. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026 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 The ice twinkled with the light of the sun, which shone 24 hours a day at that time of year. — NPR, 12 Nov. 2025 My astrologer’s eyes twinkled with infuriating delight. — Jessie Rosen, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 Finn’s eyes, wide and wonderful, twinkled under the Mile High moonlight as the young girl took the stage for the first time. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for twinkled
  1. flashed
  2. gleamed
  3. flickered
  4. glinted
  5. sparkled
  6. shimmered
  7. glittered
  8. shone
Verb
  • Willis has flashed it, at times, too, in practices leading up to the season.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Conwell, 22, flashed that skill set during four summer league appearances with the Heat this offseason.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of flashed
Verb
  • In front of the Jabara family, the turquoise waters of Torch Lake gleamed alluringly in the July heat.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Further details can only be gleamed from the photos, but what’s plain to see is that the shoe shares much of the same shape as the LeBron 23.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of gleamed
Verb
  • The stadium lights flickered off, and both teams stood awkwardly as officials huddled at the 20-yard line.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Inexplicably, the lights flickered during the groom-mother dance.
    — Anna Raskind, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of flickered
Verb
  • After spending some time by the pool, a semi-Olympic lined with emerald and malachite mosaics that glinted in the soft, ambient light, followed by a quick trip to the sauna, I was escorted to my treatment room, about a half-flight of stairs up, where I was met by Marcia, my therapist.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 June 2026
  • The silver Chrysler Sebring glinted when the sun kissed the parking lot in Temple, Texas, sitting by its lonesome.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
Definition of glinted
Verb
  • For her first red carpet as a newlywed, Swift sparkled in Tamara Ralph Couture and loads of rings.
    — Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Selena’s look sparkled from every angle under the pink disco lights.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of sparkled
Verb
  • Her body skin shimmered, and her face glowed, looking even brighter with the help of what appear to be light-brown color contact lenses.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The outfits shimmered in brilliant colors depending on the lighting, with gold and red most prominent.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of shimmered
Verb
  • Our last breakfast was a beauty—pastries on deck as Toronto glittered ahead.
    — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Aug. 2026
  • In a sartorial 180, the star embraced another revealing style moment in a sheer gold Fendi dress that glittered from every angle.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of glittered
Verb
  • At 5-10, 198 pounds, Parrish mostly played nickel corner in Todd Bowles’ aggressive scheme and shined as a rookie.
    — PJ Green September 24, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Sophomore quarterback Cooper Gear has shined with 609 yards rushing and 14 TDs on 61 carries in his first season as the starter.
    — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of shone

Browse Nearby Words

twinkle
twinkled
twinkles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Twinkled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twinkled. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 tittle

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

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
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All