winkles

verb

present tense third-person singular of winkle
as in gleams
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 winkles
  1. gleams
  2. flashes
  3. sparkles
  4. shimmers
  5. glitters
  6. glints
Verb
  • Like Beckham’s dress, the 100-percent silk dress softly gleams in the light.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Despite a couple of funky skips, the album is fueled by the hunger of an artist who really wants the pop life again, perking up electro-scuzz and arena rock with new wave that gleams like glitter.
    — Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of gleams
Verb
  • Belafonte flashes his famous smile under his famous widow’s peak.
    — Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, Vanity Fair, 21 July 2026
  • Billy Bob Thornton flashes a smile during a performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on July 19.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
Definition of flashes
Verb
  • Shakira sparkles during her World Cup halftime show performance in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
  • The humor — especially in terms of the comedic timing — absolutely sparkles in this production helmed by director Charles Pasternak.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 17 July 2026
Definition of sparkles
Verb
  • Both for the islanders and for us, the summer shimmers with a hallucinatory mixture of languor and emotional speed, as summers do in childhood.
    — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
  • This Kendra Scott necklace features a dainty, mother-of-pearl shell pendant that shimmers in the sunlight.
    — Tessa Petak, InStyle, 23 June 2026
Definition of shimmers
Verb
  • Geena Davis glitters in a red gown at the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony in France on May 23.
    — People Staff, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026
Definition of glitters
Verb
  • The air is perfectly warm, the sunshine glints on the water, happy people pass by and wave.
    — Kristy Woodson Harvey, Southern Living, 18 July 2026
  • That, from time to time, during his endless task, the sun glints across the rock’s face in a way that reminds him that there were good times, or at least different times.
    — Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
Definition of glints
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

winkled
winkles
winkling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Winkles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winkles. Accessed 25 Jul. 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!

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