Meaning & use
Blinked
Last updated
Closed and opened the eyes quickly, or hesitated and backed down under pressure.
See it in a sentence
She blinked in surprise when the lights suddenly came on.
In the tense negotiation, the smaller company blinked first and accepted the terms.
A note on using this word
The figurative sense of "blinked," meaning to show weakness or back down first, comes from the game of chicken, where the one who blinks is seen as losing nerve.
Words with a similar meaning
flickeredwavered
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
stared
Make it your own
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