tinkle 1 of 2

noun

Definition of tinklenext
as in rattle
a series of short high ringing sounds the soothing tinkle of the wind chime on the back porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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tinkle

2 of 2

verb

ˈtiŋ-kəl How to pronounce tinkle (audio)
as in to clink
to make a repeated sharp light ringing sound the bell around the cat's neck tinkled as he ran across the yard

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 tinkle
Noun
From the moment that Jerry Goldsmith’s piano tinkles caress the opening bars of his score while stars float past the frame, anyone with a soul knows that this is not your average IP cash-in. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025 The water fountains are trickling; wind chimes tinkle and shimmer in the breeze, and the store’s seemingly endless lines of indoor and outdoor décor are available to celebrate each season and occasion. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025
Verb
As a teen-ager listening to folk music in London pubs, I’d been attracted to the instrument’s nimble, tinkling cheerfulness, its being on the margins, not too demanding, perhaps. — Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026 Accordingly, recognisable Western archetypes abound, from the saloon bar serving pungent shots of whiskey to the tinkling accompaniment of Scott Joplin, to the majority of the characters themselves. — Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle
  1. rattle
  2. clink
  3. clatter
  4. jingle
  5. tintinnabulation
  6. ring
Noun
  • It’s easily activated by touching the colored sections or spinning the rattle drum and features three modes, including animals, colors and xylophone.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As for the Speed, the museum returned three ceremonial objects (a rattle, a beaded pipe bag, and a beaded turtle amulet) and 21 other items, among them beaded pouches and bags, moccasins, a coup stick, a cradleboard, and a lance.
    — Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of rattle
Verb
  • Just the sight of the glasses, dewy with condensation on the outside and filled to the rim with clinking ice, nearly chilled my body.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Miriam pulled one tooth, then another from her mouth, and clinked them into a porcelain dish on her nightstand.
    — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of clink
Noun
  • All night long there was the ringing clatter of picks and shovels; the Germans were digging trenches in the frozen ground.
    — Vasily Grossman, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • No clatter of boots and ankles.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 23 June 2026
Definition of clatter
Verb
  • Just when things seemed too contentious and/or boring to a late-night viewer, Stewart knew when to jingle the keys in our face.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • On the walls, a few pots hang from a copper rod, a dinner bell waits to be jingled, and an ancient clock keeps time.
    — Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 2 July 2026
Definition of jingle
Noun
  • Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
Definition of tintinnabulation
Verb
  • Officers were already at the park attempting to break up the crowd when shots rang out and struck multiple people.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
  • There was a little confusion as to whether or not the match was really over, but when the bell rang, fans booed loudly.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of ring

Browse Nearby Words

tinker (with)
tinkle
tinkled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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