Home North American English twinkling

Definition of twinkling in US English:

twinkling

adjective

1Shining with a gleam that changes from bright to faint.
‘twinkling harbor lights’
- ‘His golden hair looked much like the stars twinkling in the night sky.’
- ‘The camera pans across a galaxy of stars and planets, novae, and nebulae twinkling in the blackness.’
- ‘What they ignore is the story hidden behind the twinkling lights.’
- ‘Soon the entire city was covered in snow and twinkling lights.’
- ‘Any number of specters could be floating in the cold, thin air or cavorting among icily twinkling stars.’
- ‘Devlin scanned the valley below him, enjoying the twinkling of the city's lights.’
- ‘A short, vigorously cheerful woman in a twinkling red dress walked about, greeting each person.’
- ‘The set recreates a little town in southern France, in which twinkling stars can be seen during night scenes.’
- ‘Stand her in the middle of a darkened Victorian dining room draped with holiday greenery, a Christmas tree twinkling in the corner.’
- ‘There wasn't a soul in sight, only the bright stars twinkling above.’
- ‘On Saturday night, after enjoying the campfire, we noticed a few stars twinkling through the hazy sky.’
- ‘Small candles were tactically nestled amongst the branches to be lit at night, representing the twinkling stars of the heavens.’
- ‘Ah, the romance of twinkling lights in the distance.’
- ‘Dew glistened in the grass on the side of the road like little twinkling diamonds in the rough.’
- ‘Except for the lovely outdoor night scene for Juliet's funeral, with its twinkling stars, some updating might be good.’
- ‘There we were in the desert of Rajasthan, sitting on a castle rampart, just us and a myriad stars twinkling furiously.’
- ‘At dusk, as darkness is falling, small red or yellow lights are twinkling in the dark-blue autumn mist.’
- ‘Bizarrely, to my left, the sky was still midnight blue and twinkling with stars.’
- ‘Others with a different signal seem to be blinking, twinkling.’
- ‘I strolled around the windward side and looked out at the twinkling lights abreast Rayong.’
1. 1.1 (of a person's eyes) sparkling, especially with amusement.
  ‘twinkling eyes, happy smiles’
  ‘Or, a Christmas tree made from hundreds of twinkling lights is a great feature on any patio.’
  ‘I saw all of biblical history in the twinkling of an eye.’
  ‘According to Miranda he told her the story " with twinkling eyes ".’
  ‘The man grins at you, his eyes twinkling.’
  ‘Once they were inside, Elizabeth released Darcy's arm and turned to him, eyes twinkling with mischief.’
  ‘I can see her reddish-blonde hair, her slender figure and her sooty lashes blinking above slitted, twinkling green eyes.’
  ‘Hoss grinned as she put a finger to her lips, her eyes twinkling.’
  ‘She stared into my eyes for a moment, twinkling with personal satisfaction.’
  ‘Fortunately for the command climate of the 1st Pursuit Group, the witty operations officer with twinkling eyes buffered Atkinson's dourness.’
  ‘Most of them were watching me with a twinkling amusement in their eyes.’
  ‘Aunt Margaret came out of the tailor shop just moments later, her eyes twinkling with some sort of secret knowledge.’
  ‘Red eyes cut across to look at her evilly and she simply smiled, blue eyes twinkling up at him.’
  ‘He grinned at her answer with his eyes twinkling.’
  ‘The boy looked up, his dark blue eyes twinkling with amusement.’
  ‘Yet his vague unwillingness to discuss specific strategies suggests that these aspirations will merely remain a twinkling in Mr Simpson's eye.’
  ‘He was sitting in the middle of the pavement, with his twinkling eyes staring at me expectantly.’
  ‘Marlo shrugged away, trying to mask his smile with a scowl, which only resulted in a tight-lipped frown, eyes twinkling.’
  ‘Two pairs of eyes locked together, both sets of eyes twinkling with the deepest of emotions.’
  ‘She looks at Ryan, her brown eyes twinkling with amusement.’
  ‘Steven glanced at me, his eyes once again twinkling.’

Phrases

in a twinkling (or the twinkling of an eye)

In an instant; very quickly.
‘I'll have supper ready in a twinkling’
- ‘But in a twinkling Tipp had wiped it out.’
- ‘In a twinkling, the broad, tall figure was reduced to thin, glassy shards that dissolved in the air.’
- ‘Our fears that learners would starve was wiped out in a twinkling of an eye.’
- ‘He could flip in a twinkling.’
- ‘They stand there, radiating photons of goodwill, and despite yourself, you beam back, and the world, in a twinkling, changes.’
- ‘They switch between parts in a twinkling, and alternate savvily between lead singers and backup.’
- ‘But like all one-day matches, a brilliant catch or run out, or a fast innings can change matters in a twinkling and today's match should be no exception.’
- ‘The Seagulls had three goals on the board in a twinkling, running to an 18-point lead before the Rebels finally scored just before the break.’
- ‘In a twinkling, the ball was swept to the onrushing Kieran Lewis.’
- ‘And, in a twinkling, the two largest girls had joined hands and made a sedan-chair for Tate, and the entire party was hurrying on after Jenny.’
soon, very soon, in a second, in a minute, in a moment, in a trice, in a flash, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, in no time, in less than no time, in no time at all, before you know it, before long, shortly, in a very short time, any second, any second now, any minute, any minute now
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