wink
Other forms: winked; winking; winks
When you wink, you quickly close and open one eye. Sometimes a wink indicates a joke, a secret, or affection — and sometimes it just means you got something in your eye.
Whenever your jokester uncle winks at you, it's like a private signal letting you know that the next thing he says will be a tall tale. Your best friend's wink might mean "Can you believe what the math teacher just said?" A wink is an often humorous way to communicate without speaking — but it requires some understanding between the winker and the person seeing the wink. Otherwise, it's nothing but an eye twitch.
Definitions of wink
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a reflex that closes and opens the eyes rapidly
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types:
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palpebration
repeated blinking or winking (especially if uncontrolled and persistent)
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type of:
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inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, reflex action, reflex response, unconditioned reflex
an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
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palpebration
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closing one eye quickly as a signal
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type of:
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facial expression, facial gesture
a gesture executed with the facial muscles
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facial expression, facial gesture
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a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
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synonyms:
New York minute, blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling
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briefly shut the eyes
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types:
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palpebrate
wink or blink, especially repeatedly
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bat, flutter
wink briefly
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type of:
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act involuntarily, act reflexively
act in an uncontrolled manner
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palpebrate
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force to go away by blinking
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synonyms:
blink, blink away
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signal by winking“She winked at him”
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type of:
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gesticulate, gesture, motion
show, express, or direct through movement
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gesticulate, gesture, motion
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gleam or glow intermittently
Pronunciation
US
/wɪŋk/
UK
/wɪŋk/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘wink'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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