1
2
as in minutes
a very small space of time
I turned to look away, and in a wink he was gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
3
as in gleams
to shoot forth bursts of light
fireflies winking in the darkness beyond our campfire
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in ignores
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.
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Recent Examples of winks
Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.
—Yvonne Kim, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Olivier Rousteing, creative director, Balmain Creative director of Balmain since 2011, Rousteing has revitalized the house with his bold, opulent designs, blending modern glamour with winks to the legacy of founder Pierre Balmain.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
His voice took a few beats to settle, but in the meantime who wouldn’t be captivated by Martin’s joyful skips, knee bends, winks and grins?
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
There are a lot of subtle winks like that in the series, including someone other than Kyle MacLachlan playing a character named Agent Cooper, and even a reference to Hawke’s hilarious, thunderously great performance as John Brown in The Good Lord Bird.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
These songs were birthed before social media algorithms shaped the direction of popular music, when singles and their accompanying videos had less winks, less meta commentary, less need to be provocative.
—Literary Hub, 3 July 2025
The eight-person boy band group ATEEZ delivered a three-hour blitz of singing, rapping and dancing with hypnotic swagger and heart-melting winks.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 20 June 2025
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
The table serving as a centerpiece winks to a fashion runway.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
Hank certainly seems to be getting more than his 40 winks of sleep at night, if the care and intelligence demonstrated in this brief clip is anything to go by.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.
—Yvonne Kim, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Olivier Rousteing, creative director, Balmain Creative director of Balmain since 2011, Rousteing has revitalized the house with his bold, opulent designs, blending modern glamour with winks to the legacy of founder Pierre Balmain.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
His voice took a few beats to settle, but in the meantime who wouldn’t be captivated by Martin’s joyful skips, knee bends, winks and grins?
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
There are a lot of subtle winks like that in the series, including someone other than Kyle MacLachlan playing a character named Agent Cooper, and even a reference to Hawke’s hilarious, thunderously great performance as John Brown in The Good Lord Bird.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025
These songs were birthed before social media algorithms shaped the direction of popular music, when singles and their accompanying videos had less winks, less meta commentary, less need to be provocative.
—Literary Hub, 3 July 2025
The eight-person boy band group ATEEZ delivered a three-hour blitz of singing, rapping and dancing with hypnotic swagger and heart-melting winks.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 20 June 2025
Verb
But when the lights go off and consciousness winks out, another, deeper process goes to work.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
The table serving as a centerpiece winks to a fashion runway.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winks
Noun
-
Other studies have found that eliminating alcohol, getting regular vaccines, and even singing and taking naps can affect our brain health.—
Richard Sima,
Washington Post,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The poster, a 30-year-old woman, explained that tension had grown between her and her partner due to her need for daily naps.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Just over two minutes into the second period, Ovechkin backhanded a rebound off Blues goalie Jordan Binnington for his milestone goal.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
After a few minutes Matty walked in and sat across from me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
No one blinks an eye today at the kind of vivacious, confident woman Margaret Avery portrayed in The Color Purple.—
Diedre Johnson,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Dec. 2025
-
Whichever side blinks is considered cowardly by the media, but probably not by the voters.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
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
Verb
-
In episode six, Max and Holly find the memory that Henry has been hiding from, and while Max kind of ignores it, Holly hangs back and watches how Henry is affected by having killed that man.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Jan. 2026
-
That demand ignores long-standing practice, misunderstands the Bears’ legal obligations and risks undermining one of Illinois’ most important economic assets.—
Don DeWitte,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Digoxin Digoxin is used to treat heart failure and certain types of irregular heartbeats.—
Jessica Swirble,
Verywell Health,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The new approach, called Pulse-Fi, uses an AI model to analyze heartbeats to estimate heart rate in real time from up to 10 feet away.—
Perri Thaler,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Meanwhile, Charles squints at the phone.—
Allegra Goodman,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Wiesmair squints at his smartphone, which is logged on to a database of European moth species.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Less than a minute into the video, as the singer sits by herself in the middle of the desert, the camera suddenly flashes to Blue, who is wearing a dress nearly identical to her mom's gown.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Burnett pauses, considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winks. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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