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Glite Dictionary
🍃 To move lightly 🪶 A light movement 👁️ To bat lashes 💓 To beat quickly 😲 A brief commotion ❤️ Fast heart rhythm
to flutter

to flutter

10 3.7
To move the eyelids quickly and lightly, like a short blink
  • verb
  • /ˈflʌtər/
translation icon : parpadear
  • His eyes were closed, but beneath the lids, they fluttered like hummingbirds in flight.
  • eyelids flutter
  • eyes flutter
  • eyelashes flutter

And as I yell his name again, his eyes fluttered open and he looked down at me and I said, what's going on?

Examples

  • Rose pretended to sleep, but her lashes fluttered breathlessly over her locked eyes.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • His eyelids shut tightly and then fluttered as he forced the lids open.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • As her eyes begin to flutter...

    Delirious (1991)

  • OK, this step, this step is flutter your eyelashes even faster, even faster.

  • - You can flutter your eyelids...

    Eggshells (1971)

  • Her breathing is hard, her eyes flutter, and there is a twitch in her neck.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • And as I yell his name again, his eyes fluttered open and he looked down at me and I said, what's going on?

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • Or... are you the one fluttering your eyelashes at him?

    Candy 2 (2022)

  • Charlie's eyes flutter, then open, in response to the morning light spilling across his face.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She loves to flutter her eyelashes to catch his attention.

Synonyms

to blink
vsto flutter
181 1.0

To close and open the eyelids quickly without thinking

is a light rapid movement that can be voluntary and communicative
to bat
vsto flutter
23 7.4

To quickly close and open the eyelids as a sign

is a light rapid eyelid movement not limited to social gestures
to flitter
vsto flutter
1 6.9

To move quickly and lightly, like a small bird or moth

is specifically about quick eyelid motion rather than general motion
to bat one's eyes
vsto flutter
  • Informal
6.9

To move your eyelashes quickly in a playful way to get what you want

is a light rapid eyelid movement not only used for flirtation
to palpebrate
vsto flutter
9.9

To close and open the eyelids quickly, often several times

is a brief single eyelid motion rather than continuous repetition

Idioms

to flutter the dovecote
  • Archaic
9.9

To cause sudden excitement or trouble in a calm group

Compounds

heart flutter
1 4.1

A quick nervous feeling in your chest when you are excited

flutter kick
  • Specialized
3.4

A fast up-and-down kick with straight legs used in freestyle and backstroke

How Fast

to flutter
10 3.7
to blink
181 1.0
to wink
54 1.0

Surface Forms

flutter infinitive
fluttered past
fluttered past participle
fluttering present participle
flutters third person singular

Etymology

Flutter (for eyelashes) comes from the same image of small 'flaps' or quick wing beats; to flutter your lashes is to move them quickly and lightly, like tiny wings. So the word gives the idea of a soft, delicate motion.