WINKING Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

winking 1 of 2

adjective

as in glancing

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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

Fresh silhouettes in pale pink, sky blue, khaki and white were cut in crisp cotton, winking to the daywear summer occasions of the Sa Su Phi customers who juggle between board meetings, art gallery openings and a garden parties. — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 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

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

Samsung Samsung Galaxy Prime Day Deal The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 is built for anyone tired of squinting at tiny screens to get work done.

— Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026
Bathed in the glow of the late-afternoon light, the firefighters look skyward, squinting into the sun.

— Thomas E. Franklin, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of squinting

Verb

Vaccarello’s all-gold spring 2027 show — the collection marching under three monumental chandeliers and in the shadow of a twinkling Eiffel Tower — felt like a swan song, official or not.

— Miles Socha, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
When Waits sings about the woman’s raincoat and suitcase, Duke answers with a twinkling tumble of notes.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of twinkling

Verb

Sharing the rooftop with Watr, the pool setting is enchanting, surrounded by gleaming high-rises and overlooking the lake.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Most were gleaming white and conventionally extravagant, with black privacy glass and chrome railings and layers of decks.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of gleaming

Verb

Isaac Gonzalez, a traffic safety advocate and founder of Slow Down Sacramento, said roads like Valley Hi Drive were built wide and open, which can lead to drivers ignoring speed limits.

— Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Republicans stripped away key delaying tactics in recent years by ending the filibuster in 2017 and ignoring the Judiciary Committee’s quorum rules in 2020.

— The Conversation, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of ignoring

Verb

In schoolrooms and offices, there are worksheets and spreadsheets to be done; around the world, there are probably millions of Google Docs open in millions of browsers, cursors blinking.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
One sits on the nose bridge, next to the angular artery, and picks up pulse, blinking, and eyebrow movement.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of blinking

Verb

But there is still hope in a season with 13 games left and Super Bowl dreams flickering.

— Troy Renck, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Spend enough time moving through Tokyo, and their faces have a way of finding you, like flickering across the screens mounted behind taxi headrests.

— Crystal Bell, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026