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

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 Orbital mirrors flashing and winking back to Earth could distract airline pilots. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 July 2026 Two guys at the golf course are winking, and whispering, and tipping each other off. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 28 June 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

The Hubble Space Telescope captured this twinkling image of NGC 6723, or the Chandelier Cluster, a globular star cluster located 27,000 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Be sure to plan at least one evening on-property to catch the sunset, when the mountains are painted in shades of pink and purple before giving way to a sky filled with twinkling stars.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of twinkling

Verb

This is near the end of an extensive tour of the enormous, gleaming vessel.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Only guests in the larger rooms gain access to the rooftop, with its heated pool, and the Vault bar, arguably the highlight of the whole affair, cocooned among 3,000 gleaming safe deposit boxes.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of gleaming

Verb

There is a danger in drawing comparisons between current events and the Nazi Holocaust, but there is a greater danger in ignoring the similarities.

— David Pollak, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
When a motorist receives a moving violation, there are consequences for ignoring the summons.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ignoring

Verb

The firefighters made camp at two in the morning, reclining on the pillowy grass, and ate dinner around a flickering campfire.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
And whether there are strict campfire bans in place or not, the FireFold is ready to serve as the flickering centerpiece of base camp.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2026