winkle

verb

Definition of winklenext
as in to gleam
to shoot forth bursts of light under a canopy of winkling stars, the campers bedded down for the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for winkle
  1. gleam
  2. flash
  3. twinkle
  4. sparkle
  5. shine
  6. shimmer
  7. glitter
  8. glint
Verb
  • Shower Door One of the most dazzling superpowers of using toothpaste as a cleaner can be seen in a gleaming shower door.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of gleam
Verb
  • Finally, after flashing his union card and ID, a sympathetic cop lets him in.
    — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But that’s not the only metric flashing a warning about America’s debt burden.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of flash
Verb
  • Amenities and experiences Aside from dining at La Cour Jardin, the space also serves as a venue for pop-up exhibitions, an outdoor cinema, and a twinkling ice rink in winter.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of twinkle
Verb
  • The ban covers sparkling grape wine, malt beer, rice wine or sake, Irish and Scotch whiskies, and pisco and singani – as long as they are packaged.
    — Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026
  • In a selfie that appeared to be taken by Brandon, Demetriades could be seen holding up her ring finger to show off a large diamond center stone, which was flanked by sparkling diamonds on each side on a gold band.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of sparkle
Verb
  • The spotlight shines bright on Josh Allen and especially Joe Brady.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • There should be no information shared with that committee that does not deserve the light of day shone brightly upon it.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of shine
Verb
  • Related Articles The actress added a shimmering diamond necklace to accessorize her dress, tossed her blonde hair into an Old Hollywood-style bun with wisps of hair to frame her face and continued to embrace her makeup-free glam.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Dazzling in majolica tile, the Santa Maria Assunta catches the sunlight in ribbons of green, gold, and cobalt—an architectural wonder shimmering above the sea.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of shimmer
Verb
  • The hills, glittering with celebrity, seemed to symbolize a culture and people that existed largely on the surface.
    — Michael Anthony Hall, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The glittering black bug can be seen and, more prominently, heard by an Owens witch whenever someone is about to die.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of glitter
Verb
  • Researchers at the wild cat center weren't able to document him on camera again until the summer of 2025, when a camera trap turned up a shadowy picture of the jaguar, his eyes glinting in the camera’s light.
    — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The placement feels resonant, since Boorman was always operating between poles of glinting victory and laughable failure.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of glint
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.

Browse Nearby Words

winking (out)
winkle
winkled
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Winkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winkle. Accessed 14 Sep. 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 empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All