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Glite Dictionary
⏱️ A brief moment ✨ Sparkling light
twinkling

twinkling

8 2.5
A very short moment of time
  • noun
  • /ˈtwɪŋklɪŋ/
translation icon : instante
  • We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.
  • the twinkling of an eye

Christianity was executing people just for being the wrong sort of Christian before Islam was a twinkle in in Muhammad's eye.

Examples

  • Trailer parks in Kansas get wiped out in a twinkling, and towns in Florida are destroyed overnight.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • In the twinkling of an eye J'

    Hope Springs (2012)

  • Jesus will come back to this tired, sorry Earth in a moment and a twinkling of an eye!

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I got up and peered out toward the twinkling lights on the other side of the common.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • A woman's life runs from wedding to childbirth to nothing in the twinkling of an eye.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Alone at night on a dark hill, she stares up at twinkling stars and planets parading past.

    Academic text (2004)

  • In the twinkling of an eye, we realized it was too late to change our plans.

  • Her life changed dramatically in the twinkling of an eye when she got the unexpected job offer.

  • The incident happened in the twinkling of an eye, leaving everyone in shock.

Synonyms

instant
vstwinkling
232 1.0

A very short moment that passes quickly

is the same short moment but often with a vivid image
flash
vstwinkling
72 1.3

A very short time

keeps brevity but lacks the sudden visual sense
heartbeat
vstwinkling
  • Informal
72 3.7

A very short time

is the same instant but without bodily rhythm imagery
split second
vstwinkling
43 2.5

A very short moment when something happens

is similar but phrased more as a simple moment
blink of an eye
vstwinkling
  • Informal
35 2.8

A very short moment that passes almost instantly

is the plain notion of a very brief moment without the image
wink
vstwinkling
  • Informal
22 4.9

A very short time like a moment

is similar but does not suggest a deliberate social signal
jiffy
vstwinkling
  • Informal
17 7.2

A very short time, just a moment

is the same idea but without the informal tone
New York minute
vstwinkling
  • Informal
5 7.2

A very short moment when something happens

expresses the same instant but without regional or ironic tone
twinkling of an eye
vstwinkling
  • Informal
1 3.8

A very short time when things change suddenly

is the same short moment but without the expressive image
trice
vstwinkling
  • Informal
1 9.9

A very short time, like an instant

is the modern plain expression for the same short time
eyeblink
vstwinkling
1 3.2

A very short moment like the quick closing and opening of an eyelid

is the same brief duration but without bodily imagery
in an eyeblink
vstwinkling
  • Informal
6.8

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

is similar but often used without the blink comparison

Antonyms

eternity
  • Informal
63 4.7

A time that feels very long when you are waiting

Idioms

twinkling of an eye
  • Informal
1 3.8

A very short time when things change suddenly

How Short

twinkling
8 2.5
flash
273 1.7
moment
∞ 1.0
period
∞ 2.1

Surface Forms

twinkling singular
twinklings plural

Morphology

twinkling = twinkle (semi-transparent) = twinkle + ing

The noun sense 'an instant' is a figurative temporal extension from the brief action of twinkling; learners may not infer this temporal meaning from form alone.

Etymology

Twinkling as a noun comes from the same idea of a quick flash in light, from the verb twinkle; a flash is very short, like a 'blink'. So when we say something happened 'in a twinkling', we mean it happened 'in a very short time'.