WINKING Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

winking 1 of 2

adjective

as in glancing

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

winking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wink

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

as in twinkling

to shine with light at regular intervals a lighthouse was winking in the distance

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in gleaming

to shoot forth bursts of light fireflies winking in the darkness beyond our campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 winking

Verb

The production’s winking tone blunts some of the original’s tear-jerking climax, yet its intact happy ending offers a surprisingly comforting vision of survival in an age of constant crises. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 The woman at the center of a viral video who was seen winking and smiling at a camera during the Lindsay Clancy trial this week has been dropped by the magazine she was credentialed to cover the trial for. — Kelsie Cairns , Bryan Llenas, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026 The wry, winking tone still legible in its pages was an early iteration of the urbane magazine voice that powered nineteenth-century publications such as Judge and Puck, as well as later ones like The New Yorker, New York, Spy, and Gawker. — Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026 The ad ends with Cameli looking into the camera for a few seconds before winking. — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026 Her lyrics, like those of many of her biggest musical influences, are dense texts, full of winking allusions and subtle references to records, bands, and albums that have shaped her own songwriting. — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026 The film’s mix of musical swagger, YA melodrama, and winking world-building hit a nerve, turning its core cast into fixtures for a generation that grew up streaming the soundtrack on a loop. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for winking

Adjective

These gentler, more glancing interactions often result in a merger, too.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2026
Glaser, from a very glancing stylistic consideration, looks like a multicam by comparison.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2024

Definition of glancing

Verb

His pencil mustache, his fastidious gestures, and his twinkling eyes are at least as famous as his drinks.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
The Hubble Space Telescope captured this twinkling image of NGC 6723, or the Chandelier Cluster, a globular star cluster located 27,000 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of twinkling

Verb

The movie star approached AFP photographer Tiziana Fabi, gave her his gleaming trophy, then posed with Fabi's camera.

— Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
In 1972, to mark Kim’s sixtieth birthday, the nation erected a gleaming sixty-six-foot-tall statue of him on a hill in the capital, Pyongyang.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of gleaming

Verb

The 86-year-old woman accused the UFW Foundation and the César Chávez Foundation of enabling Chávez’s attacks, ignoring complaints, and covering up evidence of the incidents.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Sofia, after 17 years, looks at this as a dead end in their relationship, another example of completely ignoring her needs, and maybe her unspoken desire to move back to their native Spain.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of ignoring

Verb

The film’s opening scene has her wading naked in Hampstead Ponds at night, looking up at the blinking stars and naming the constellations to herself, then closing her eyes as if to let the galaxies above wash over her.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Choose a system to add the module to (or create a new one), verify that the LEDs are solid green and blinking blue, and tap Discover Device.

— John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of blinking

Verb

The Marlins’ fleeting, flickering hopes of a playoff berth grew dimmer Saturday when the Cubs beat them for the second day in a row, continuing an inauspicious start to an important nine-game homestand.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2026
The firefighters made camp at two in the morning, reclining on the pillowy grass, and ate dinner around a flickering campfire.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026