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wink

Did you mean: wink, Wink (TX), Josh Wink (Electronica Artist, '90s, 2000s), Walter Wink, Wink (Electronica Artist, '90s), Wink (soft drink), Wink (family name), Wink (game) More...

 
Dictionary: wink   (wĭngk) pronunciation
 

v., winked, wink·ing, winks.

v.intr.
  1. To close and open the eyelid of one eye deliberately, as to convey a message, signal, or suggestion.
  2. To close and open the eyelids of both eyes; blink. See synonyms at blink.
  3. To shine fitfully; twinkle: Harbor lights were winking in the distance.
v.tr.
  1. To close and open (an eye or the eyes) rapidly.
  2. To signal or express by winking.
n.
    1. The act of winking.
    2. A signal or hint conveyed by winking.
  1. The very brief time required for a wink; an instant.
  2. A quick closing and opening of the eyelids; a blink.
  3. A gleam or twinkle.
  4. Informal. A brief period of sleep.
phrasal verbs:

wink at

  1. To pretend not to see: winked at corruption in the ministry.
wink out
  1. To come to a close; end.

[Middle English winken, to close one's eyes, from Old English wincian.]


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A short control signal in telephony operations. It can be a single pulse, a brief interruption of a continuous tone, a change of bits or a change in polarity of the signal. For example, a momentary interruption (the wink) of a continuous, single-frequency tone is a signal that the receiving device is ready. The momentary interruption (the wink) of current to the light next to a telephone's hold button causes it to flicker as a signal to the user that the line is on hold.

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Thesaurus: wink
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also wink at

verb

  1. To open and close the eyes rapidly: bat1, blink, nictate, nictitate, twinkle. See repetition, see/not see.
  2. To shine with intermittent gleams: blink, flash, flicker, glimmer, twinkle. See continue/stop/pause, light/darkness.
  3. To emit light suddenly in rays or sparks: coruscate, flash, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, spangle, sparkle, twinkle. See light/darkness.

phrasal verb - wink at

    To pretend not to see: blink (at), connive at, disregard, ignore, pass over. Idioms: be blind to, closeshutone's eyes to, look the other way, turn a blind eye to,, see/not see.

noun

  1. A brief closing of the eyes: blink, nictation, nictitation. See see/not see.
  2. A very brief time: crack, flash, instant, minute1, moment, second1, trice, twinkle, twinkling. Informal jiff, jiffy. Chiefly British tick. See big/small/amount, time.
  3. A sudden quick light: blink, coruscation, flash, flicker, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, spark1, twinkle. See light/darkness.

 
Idioms: wink
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Idioms beginning with wink:
wink at

In addition to the idiom beginning with wink, also see forty winks; quick as a wink; sleep a wink.


 
Abbreviations: WINK
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is short for:

Meaning Category
Wicked Inband Noise KillerAcademic & Science->Electronics
Wink Communications, Inc.Business->NASDAQ Symbols
Wired Innovative Naughty KidsInternet

Click here to submit an acronym.


 
Wikipedia: Wink
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A man winking with his right eye

A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye.[1] A wink is an informal mode of communication usually signaling, depending on context, sexual attraction, or shared hidden knowledge or intent.

Contents

Cultural differences

The West

In Western culture, it may be used to communicate sexual intentions, ranging from flirtation to an explicit invitation.[citation needed]

Latin America

In Latin American cultures, winking may also be a romantic or sexual invitation, but may also be used a casual sign of recognition or of acceptance of behavior among friends.[2]

Asia

In many Asian countries, winking may be seen as an offensive gesture.

However, it must be noted that winking in the Indian subcontinent often has similar connotations as in the West--a naughty "come on" by a girl to a boy or vice versa. In other instances, the gesture is used to signal an "inside" joke, a sly gesture shared between two people privately, unbeknownst to those around them, as in a social gathering.

[3].

When Frederick Spencer Chapman was training Chinese guerillas in Malaya to shoot rifles he found that a large proportion of them were unable to close only one eye at a time.[4]

Africa

Nigerian adults may wink to signal children to leave the room[5][2].

Noted examples

  • In the famous Monty Python sketch, Nudge Nudge, a younger man nervously inquires an older gentleman about sex through innuendo, reiterating the phrase "nudge nudge wink wink" after his questions in an attempt to indicate that his innocent-sounding questions are intended to be of a sexual nature.
  • During the 2008 United States vice-presidential debate, Republican candidate Sarah Palin winked at the audience several times. Her behaviour was considered to be highly unusual in the context of a formal political debate and received considerable media attention. While some conservative pundits defended Palin[6], many commentators and voters were critical of and even offended by her conduct.[7]
  • In the 2004, Science fiction movie, I, Robot (film), Robot named Sonny learns to wink, using it as a gesture of trust to Detective Spooner (Will Smith).[8]

Physiological ability

Not all humans are able to wink voluntarily, and some can only wink one (usually the non-dominant) eye. Others are far better at winking one eye and find it awkward to wink the other.

Abnormalities

Some people, especially children and adolescents show a habit of winking involuntarily under stress, often without their own knowledge. It is considered as a symptom of Tourette Syndrome. It usually gets better with increasing age.

See also

References



 
Translations: Wink
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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - blinke, glimte, funkle
v. tr. - blinke, glimte, funkle, se gennem fingre med
n. - blink, tegn, blund

idioms:

  • in a wink    på et øjeblik
  • wink at    blinke til, se gennem fingre med

Nederlands (Dutch)
knipperen, knipogen, knipoog, moment

Français (French)
v. intr. - cligner de l'¯il, (fig) fermer les yeux sur (qch), clignoter (la lumière), briller (des bijoux)
v. tr. - cligner de l'¯il, faire un clin d'¯il
n. - clin d'¯il

idioms:

  • in a wink    en un clin d'¯il
  • not get a wink of sleep    ne pas fermer l'¯il de la nuit
  • wink at    faire un clin d'¯il à, (fig) fermer les yeux sur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Blinzeln
v. - blinken, blinzeln, zwinkern

idioms:

  • in a wink    blitzschnell
  • not get a wink of sleep    kein Auge zutun
  • wink at    nachsehen, jmdm. zuzwinkern

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανοιγοκλείσιμο του ματιού, νεύμα, κλείσιμο του ματιού, νόημα με το μάτι (κν. ματάκι), ελάχιστος χρόνος, (καθομ.) σύντομος ύπνος, υπνάκος
v. - βλεφαρίζω, ανοιγοκλείνω τα μάτια, κλείνω μάτι, νεύω

idioms:

  • in a wink    στη στιγμή, στο πι και φι
  • wink at    κλείνω το μάτι σε, κάνω τα στραβά μάτια σε

Italiano (Italian)
ammiccare, lampeggiare

idioms:

  • forty winks    sonnellino
  • in a wink    in un istante
  • tip the wink    ammiccare a
  • wink at    chiudere un occhio, ammiccare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pestanejo (m), momento (m)
v. - piscar, relampejar

idioms:

  • forty winks    soneca
  • in a wink    em um piscar de olhos
  • tip the wink    contar um segredo a uma pessoa
  • wink at    fazer de conta que não vê

Русский (Russian)
мигать, подмигивать, закрывать глаза на что-л., приходить к концу, моргание, мигание, подмигивание, миг

idioms:

  • forty winks    короткий (послеобеденный) сон
  • in a wink    моментально
  • tip the wink    сделать предостерегающий знак кому-л., предупредить кого-л.
  • wink at    подмигивать кому-л., потворствовать кому-л.

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - parpadear, titilar, guiñar, pestañear
v. tr. - guiñar, hacer parpadeando
n. - guiño, pestañeo, parpadeo, insinuación, seña, sueño, siesta, instante

idioms:

  • in a wink    en un abrir y cerrar de ojos
  • not get a wink of sleep    pasar la noche en claro
  • wink at    hacer la vista gorda

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - blinkning, vink
v. - blinka

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
眨眼, 闪烁, 使眼色, 眨, 瞬间

idioms:

  • in a wink    一瞬间, 一转眼间, 一眨眼工夫
  • wink at    使眼色, 假装看不见

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 眨眼, 閃爍, 使眼色
v. tr. - 眨
n. - 眨眼, 瞬間, 使眼色

idioms:

  • in a wink    一瞬間, 一轉眼間, 一眨眼工夫
  • wink at    使眼色, 假裝看不見

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 눈을 깜박이다, 윙크하다, (빛 따위가) 반짝이다
v. tr. - 눈을 깜박이다, (이물을) 깜박이어 제거하다, 눈짓하여 알리다
n. - 눈짓, 반짝임, 순간

idioms:

  • in a wink    순식간에
  • wink at    간과된, 눈감아 준

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 目くばせする, まばたきさせる, 点滅する, がきらめく, 瞬きする, 瞬く
n. - ウインク, またたく間, 瞬き, 一瞬

idioms:

  • in a wink    またたく間に
  • wink at    ウインクする, 見て見ぬ振りをする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نوم قصير, غمزة, غمز, لحظه, طرفه عين (فعل) يغمز بعينه, تطرف العين, ينتهي, يوجه رساله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮קרץ, מצמץ, הבהב, נצנץ‬
v. tr. - ‮קרץ, מצמץ, סילק (מהעין) במצמוץ‬
n. - ‮קריצה, מצמוץ, איתות, הבהוב, רגע קט, שינה חטופה‬


 
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Did you mean: wink, Wink (TX), Josh Wink (Electronica Artist, '90s, 2000s), Walter Wink, Wink (Electronica Artist, '90s), Wink (soft drink), Wink (family name), Wink (game) More...

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nictitate
Winke (family name)
squidger

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