Synonyms of winking

winking 1 of 2

adjective

as in glancing

Related Words

• glancing
• flashing
• twinkling
• glistening
• flickering
• glaring
• blinding
• gleaming
• shimmering
• glittering
• sparkling
• flaring
• glinting
• shimmery
• glimmering
• scintillating
• scintillant
• aglitter
• flaming
• agleam
• blazing
• gemmy
• ardent
• sunny
• burning
• glistering
• shining
• coruscant
• burnished
• fiery
• red-hot
• dazzling
• beaming
• lambent
• incandescent
• polished
• shined
• combusting
• radiant
• luminous
• brilliant
• shiny
• glowing
• effulgent
• refulgent
• splendid
• ablaze
• lucent
• candescent
• lucid
• fulgent
• lustrous
• bedazzling
• clear
• sheeny
• bright
• ultrabright
• superbright

Dissimilar Words

• dim
• dusky
• dark
• dull
• darkened
• obscure
• blackened
• lackluster
• gloomy
• somber
• darkling
• unlit
• pitch-black
• dimmed
• obscured
• pitch-dark
• lightless
• shadowy
• murky
• darkish
• darksome
• pale
• shady
• cloudy
• unbright
• gray
• unbrilliant
• leaden
• tenebrous
• sunless
• shadowlike
• palish

winking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wink

1

as in squinting

to rapidly open and close one's eyes

she winked several times to get the dust and grit out of her eyes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• squinting
• blinking
• fluttering
• batting

2

as in twinkling

to shine with light at regular intervals

a lighthouse was winking in the distance

Synonyms & Similar Words

• twinkling
• flashing
• flickering
• blinking
• glinting
• glittering
• glistening
• sparkling
• shimmering
• flaring
• glancing
• glimmering
• scintillating
• spangling
• coruscating
• sparking
• glistering

3

as in gleaming

to shoot forth bursts of light

fireflies winking in the darkness beyond our campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gleaming
• flashing
• glinting
• glittering
• shining
• shimmering
• twinkling
• glistening
• sparkling
• glancing
• glimmering
• glowing
• flaming
• winkling
• scintillating
• spangling
• coruscating
• glistering
• beaming
• lustering
• radiating
• blinding
• dazzling
• glaring
• flaring
• blazing
• bedazzling
• burning
• dazing

4

as in ignoring

to secretly sympathize with or pretend ignorance of something improper or unlawful

the whole sporting world seems to wink as untold sums are bet on the outcome of the Super Bowl

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ignoring
• conniving
• tolerating
• overlooking
• disregarding
• forgiving
• condoning
• excusing
• pardoning
• brushing (aside or off)
• passing over
• glossing (over)
• shrugging off
• glozing (over)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• denying
• refusing
• frowning (on or upon)
• disapproving (of)
• disallowing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of winking

Verb

For Lin, part of her goal in posting her surveillance selfies was a winking subversion of the all-seeing state. — T.m. Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026

Orbital mirrors flashing and winking back to Earth could distract airline pilots. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 July 2026

The sign-off was seemingly a winking allusion to Get Behind Me Satan, White’s 2005 album with the White Stripes. — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2026

Two guys at the golf course are winking, and whispering, and tipping each other off. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 28 June 2026

The show ushered in a new era of winking, elbow-jabbing meta-musicals. — Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 26 June 2026

His drawling, winking charm is front and center, and his attraction to our heroine feels both genuine and even quite protective, but his violent streak is so blasé as to be unnerving. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 June 2026

Chapin, the mechanic on the Shawmut crew, was a wiry 6-footer with a winking sense of humor and a penchant for machine-shop patter peppered with gleeful profanity, a likable 26-year-old who’d been a reliable factory hand and test driver before the fire. — Eric Moskowitz, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026

The novel’s omniscient narrator can barely conceal their exasperation, relaying key details like place and time with a winking mix of hostility and resignation. — Literary Hub, 21 May 2026