tinkle 1 of 2

Definition of tinklenext
as in rattle
a series of short high ringing sounds the soothing tinkle of the wind chime on the back porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to clink
to make a repeated sharp light ringing sound the bell around the cat's neck tinkled as he ran across the yard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tinkle
Noun
From the moment that Jerry Goldsmith’s piano tinkles caress the opening bars of his score while stars float past the frame, anyone with a soul knows that this is not your average IP cash-in. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025 The water fountains are trickling; wind chimes tinkle and shimmer in the breeze, and the store’s seemingly endless lines of indoor and outdoor décor are available to celebrate each season and occasion. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025
Verb
As a teen-ager listening to folk music in London pubs, I’d been attracted to the instrument’s nimble, tinkling cheerfulness, its being on the margins, not too demanding, perhaps. — Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026 Accordingly, recognisable Western archetypes abound, from the saloon bar serving pungent shots of whiskey to the tinkling accompaniment of Scott Joplin, to the majority of the characters themselves. — Catherine Bray, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle
Noun
  • His favorite technique was to take a fold-up chair in the woods, get in a blowdown, rattle antlers during the rut, and wait for a trophy buck to come along.
    — Colin Moore, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Her first hit item was a baby rattle shaped like a chicken drumstick that was sold wrapped in cellophane, much like a meat-counter purchase.
    — Leigh-Ann Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Praise for Selldorf and her award-winning renovation was shown through clinking glasses, applause, and smiles around the room, as waiters in single file arrived with decadent dishes.
    — Eliza Jordan, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Twelve of the most powerful football owners, chairmen and CEOs clinked glasses and talked shop.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Or when it’s not scripted for the set’s bed to break with a thunderous clatter.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • An operation in Kenscoff In the mists of the steep hills that ring southern Port-au-Prince, CNN saw one Task Force operation where helicopters manned by foreign contractors assaulted gang positions, and drones detonated amid the clatter of gunfire.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Just when things seemed too contentious and/or boring to a late-night viewer, Stewart knew when to jingle the keys in our face.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • On the walls, a few pots hang from a copper rod, a dinner bell waits to be jingled, and an ancient clock keeps time.
    — Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
Verb
  • By Fortune’s estimate, SpaceX would need $550 billion in profits and around $3 trillion in revenue to ring the bell by 2035.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Shots rang out again in September as police were trying to break up a fight.
    — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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