wink

Examples

• All

• The Batmobile screams past in the wink of an eye.

  Fiction book (1992)

• "After what he did, he's never going to get a wink of sleep anyway."

  Fiction book (1996)

• THINGS I DID NOT SEE: A wink of sleep; the inside of

  Blog text (9)

• So again, a barely there wink as well.

• In my mind's eye, I now imagine that I saw, in a wink, the most famous performances.

  Fiction book (1997)

• You really didn't sleep a wink, did you?

  TransSiberian (2008)

• In the wink of an eye, he attacks, leaping on her.

  Fiction book (1996)

• All along the street, people apparently engaged in their own business traded winks and nods.

  Fiction book (1993)

• In a wink, the magician made the rabbit disappear.

• The event will be over in a wink, so don't be late!

Synonyms

M

moment

vswink

∞ 1.0

A very short time or a particular point in time

is narrower, highlighting extreme quickness rather than general time

S

second

vswink

• Informal

543 1.0

A very short time

is the same brief period but feels slightly more emphatic

I

instant

vswink

232 1.0

A very short moment that passes quickly

shares that speed but can feel more colloquial or vivid

J

just a minute

vswink

198 1.0

Ask someone to wait for a very short time

is the same short time concept but not used as a request

F

flash

vswink

72 1.3

A very short time

covers the same quickness but without implying visual impact

H

heartbeat

vswink

• Informal

72 3.7

A very short time

keeps the tiny duration focus but without bodily imagery

S

split second

vswink

43 2.5

A very short moment when something happens

is similar but used more casually for any tiny time

M

mo

vswink

• UK

35 9.9

A very short time, like a moment, used in informal speech

is more definite about extreme shortness rather than vagueness

B

blink of an eye

vswink

• Informal

35 2.8

A very short moment that passes almost instantly

means the same rapidity but with less bodily metaphor

J

jiffy

vswink

• Informal

17 7.2

A very short time, just a moment

is the same idea but often stresses extreme brevity

J

jiff

vswink

• Informal

8 9.9

A very short time

expresses the same extreme shortness with a slightly literary tone

T

twinkling

vswink

8 2.5

A very short moment of time

is the everyday equivalent but less poetic in tone

N

New York minute

vswink

• Informal

5 7.2

A very short moment when something happens

expresses the same extreme quickness but without regional colouring

T

trice

vswink

• Informal

1 9.9

A very short time, like an instant

means the same short duration but in plain modern speech

I

in the wink of an eye

vswink

• Informal

1 3.5

Very quickly, in an instant

is the literal phrase expressing the same sudden shortness

W

wink of an eye

vswink

• Informal

1 3.8

In a very short time

is the more literal expression of that same rapid timing

H

half a mo

vswink

• UK

1 9.6

A very short time, like a few moments

is similar but more direct and less clipped in form

I

in an eyeblink

vswink

• Informal

6.8

Happen very quickly in the short time it takes to blink an eye

conveys the same speed but in plainer language

Antonyms

A

age

332 7.7

A very long time

E

eternity

224 5.8

Time that never ends, often imagined after death

Idioms

S

to sleep a wink

• Informal

9 5.7

To get any sleep, usually said when someone did not sleep

N

to not sleep a wink

• Informal

8 5.0

Not sleep at all during the night

I

in the wink of an eye

• Informal

1 3.5

Very quickly, in an instant

W

wink of an eye

• Informal

1 3.8

In a very short time

A

a nod's as good as a wink

• Archaic

9.9

A small gesture, like a nod or smile, that shows agreement and tells someone to act

N

nudge nudge wink wink

• NSFW

9.9

Hint at something in a joking way with a wink or small gesture

Compounds

W

wink-wink

• Informal

1 9.0

A small sign that shows a private joke or secret

S

smexy wink

• NSFW

9.9

A short playful closing of one eye to show interest or fun

W

wink-a-peep

• Informal

9.9

A quick playful look that shows secret understanding or gentle flirting

How Brief

wink

• Informal

22 4.9

instant

232 1.0

second

• Informal

543 1.0

moment

∞ 1.0

while

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology