twin·kle

verb

/ˈtwɪŋkl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they twinkle	/ˈtwɪŋkl/ /ˈtwɪŋkl/
he / she / it twinkles	/ˈtwɪŋklz/ /ˈtwɪŋklz/
past simple twinkled	/ˈtwɪŋkld/ /ˈtwɪŋkld/
past participle twinkled	/ˈtwɪŋkld/ /ˈtwɪŋkld/
-ing form twinkling	/ˈtwɪŋklɪŋ/ /ˈtwɪŋklɪŋ/

[intransitive] to shine with a light that keeps changing from bright to pale to bright again闪耀；闪烁
- Stars twinkled in the sky.星星在天空中闪烁。
- twinkling lights in the distance远处闪耀的点点灯光
Synonyms shine
shinegleam ▪ glow ▪ sparkle ▪ glisten ▪ shimmer ▪ glitter ▪ twinkle ▪ glintThese words all mean to produce or reflect light.
shine to produce or reflect light, especially brightly:
The sun was shining and the sky was blue.阳光灿烂，天空一片蓝。
gleam to shine with a clear bright or pale light, especially a reflected light:
Moonlight gleamed on the water.月光照在水面上泛起粼粼波光。
glow (often of something hot or warm) to produce a steady light that is not very bright:
The end of his cigarette glowed red.他的烟头发着微弱的红光。
sparkle to shine brightly with small flashes of light:
The diamonds sparkled in the light.钻石在灯光下闪闪发亮。
glisten (of something wet) to shine:
The road glistened wet after the rain.雨后的道路润泽闪亮。
shimmer to shine with a soft light that seems to shake slightly:
Everything seemed to shimmer in the heat.在高温下所有的东西都好像在闪光。
glitter to shine brightly with small flashes of reflected light:
The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold.大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。
sparkle or glitter?There is very little difference in meaning between these two words. Glitter can sometimes suggest a lack of depth, but this is more frequent in the figurative use of glitter as a noun: the superficial glitter of show business. Sparkle is also often used to talk about light reflected off a surface, but things that produce light can also sparkle: Stars sparkled in the sky.
twinkle to shine with a light that changes rapidly from bright to faint to bright again:
Stars twinkled in the sky.星星在天空中闪烁。
glint to give small bright flashes of reflected light:
The blade of the knife glinted in the darkness.刀刃在黑暗中亮了亮。
Patterns
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint on something
- to shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/twinkle/glint with something
- to shine/gleam/sparkle/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the sunlight
- to shine/gleam/glisten/shimmer/glitter/glint in the moonlight
- the stars shine/sparkle/glitter/twinkle
- somebody’s eyes shine/gleam/glow/sparkle/glisten/glitter/twinkle/glint
- to shine/gleam/glow/glitter brightly
- to shine/gleam/glow/shimmer softly
[intransitive] if your eyes twinkle, you have a bright expression because you are happy or excited（眼睛因高兴或兴奋）闪光，发亮
- twinkling blue eyes闪闪发亮的蓝眼睛
- twinkle with something Her eyes twinkled with merriment.她高兴得双眸闪闪发亮。
- twinkle at somebody His mother twinkled at him over her teacup.他的母亲隔着茶杯对他眨了眨眼。
Extra Examples
- Her eyes twinkled with mischief.她眼睛里闪烁着调皮的光辉。
- His dark eyes twinkled merrily at her.他的黑眼睛对她闪烁着快乐的光芒。

Word OriginOld English twinclian (verb), of Germanic origin.

twin·kle

noun

/ˈtwɪŋkl/

[singular]

an expression in your eyes that shows you are happy or pleased about something（眼睛的）闪亮；欣喜的神情
- He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.他目光熠熠地望着我。
- There was a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes.她的眼睛里闪烁着一丝恶作剧的神色。
Topics Feelingsc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- amused
- mischievous
- wicked
- …
verb + twinkle
- notice
- see
- spot
- …
preposition
- twinkle of
phrases
- a twinkle in somebody’s eye
a small light that keeps changing from bright to pale to bright again闪烁；闪耀；闪光
- the twinkle of stars星星的闪烁
- the twinkle of the harbour lights in the distance远处港口灯光的闪烁

Word OriginOld English twinclian (verb), of Germanic origin.