twinkle

Word family

twin·kle1 /ˈtwɪŋkəl/ verb [intransitiveI]

1 SHINEif a star or light twinkles, it shines in the dark with an unsteady light 闪烁，闪耀

stars twinkling in the sky

天空中闪烁的星星

I saw lights twinkling in the little town below us.

我看到我们下面的小镇灯火闪烁。

► see thesaurus at shine

2 HAPPYif someone’s eyes twinkle, they have a happy expression 〔眼睛〕闪闪发光

twinkle with

Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

她的双眼闪耀着愉悦的光芒。

Examples from the Corpus

twinkle• The lights of the town twinkled beyond the desert.• Votive candles twinkle in every room.• Over her shoulder, the stars twinkled in the black sky.• From it one could see lights twinkling in the little town below, and fishing-boats with lights at sea.• Below them the lights of the town twinkled unconcernedly on.• He grinned, his eyes twinkling wetly.• The castle-like stretch to interior sky twinkling with crystal lights.• His smile broadened and his eyes twinkled with whimsy.

twinkle with• "I'd love to meet him, " Christine said, her eyes twinkling with delight.

twinkle2 noun [countableC usually singular]

1 a twinkle in your eye HAPPYan expression in your eyes that shows you are happy or amused 〔眼睛的〕闪烁；欣喜的神情

a kindly, white-haired old gentleman with a twinkle in his eye

一位慈祥可亲、目光炯炯有神的白发老先生

Examples from the Corpus

a twinkle in your eye• And Beth walked between them, a smile in her heart, and a twinkle in her eyes.• She had a pleasant disposition and always had a twinkle in her eyes.• The ghost of a twinkle in her eye?• But she saw a twinkle in his eyes, and her lips twitched.• There was a twinkle in his eye as he said dryly that the procedures needed to be looked into.• Jake walked into the room with a twinkle in his eye.

2. SHINEa small bright shining light that becomes brighter and then fainter 闪烁的光

Examples from the Corpus

twinkle• I do not have any twinkle in my eyes.• His leonine aspect and the mischievous twinkle in his eye made his appearance as arresting as his personality.• There was no twinkle in her eyes and no coy smile on her lips.• It was around this time that the twinkle in the planner's eye was transformed into a 20-storey tower-block.

Origin twinkle1

Old English twinclian

twin·kle1 verbtwinkle2 noun

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus