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Glite Dictionary
to blink back tears

to blink back tears

1 4.9
To try to stop crying by blinking quickly
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : contener las lágrimas
  • "I can't do it," she said quietly, blinking back tears.
  • swallowed and blinked back tears
  • said, blinking back tears
  • tried to blink back tears

Examples

  • I had to blink back tears that sprang to my eyes in sympathy with his.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • She blinked back tears and looked around to make sure nobody else had witnessed her humiliation.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "Going to bed tonight, gentlemen?" She blinked back tears again as she looked at them.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The question is why. "All right, then, why?" I blinked back tears.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I blinked back tears of my own.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Sharon comes out of the kitchen, blinking back tears.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Well, it was no use daydreaming now, she thought, blinking back tears.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Bathsheba blinked back tears and turned her head away.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Abby blinked back tears as she opened the door.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "As the final farewell played, she blinked back tears, trying to hold herself together."

Synonyms

to blink
vsto blink back tears
41 2.9

To close and open the eyelids to stop tears from falling

is faster and more forceful, using rapid eye closures to stop crying
to wink
vsto blink back tears
9 6.2

To blink many times to stop tears or strong feelings

is done more rapidly and urgently to prevent actual crying
to blink away
vsto blink back tears
1 5.7

To hold back tears by quickly closing your eyes

is faster and aims to stop crying rather than only preventing overflow

Antonyms

to weep
208 1.1

To cry and let tears fall because you feel sad or have strong feelings

How Controlled

to compose
33 4.7
to stifle
49 5.3
to blink back tears
1 4.9
to cry
∞ 1.0
to break down
111 3.9

Surface Forms

blink back tears infinitive
blinked back tears past
blinked back tears past participle
blinking back tears present participle
blinks back tears third person singular

Morphology

blink + back + tears

The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'blink' (to close the eyes briefly) combined with 'back' (indicating holding/suppressing) and 'tears' (crying) yields the clear action of blinking to keep tears from falling. This compositional pattern parallels other cross-linguistic constructions (e.g. 'hold back tears'), so a B1 learner who knows the parts should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Blink back tears shows a simple picture: you blink quickly to keep tears from falling, as if sending them back into your eyes. That's why it means 'to try to stop yourself from crying'.