twinkle
v.v. to shine with a light that changes from bright to faint very quickly. You often see this when looking at stars or distant city lights at night.
v. to shine with a flickering or intermittent light. Often used to describe celestial bodies or reflective surfaces; can also describe a sparkling expression in a person's eyes indicating amusement.
The stars twinkle brightly in the clear night sky.
From the mountain top, we watched the city lights twinkle in the valley below as evening turned to night.
The sunlight began to twinkle on the surface of the lake, creating a shimmering effect that made the water appear as though it were covered in diamonds.
From Middle English twinclen, twynclen, from Old English twinclian (“to twinkle”), equivalent to twink (“to wink; blink; twinkle”) + -le (frequentative suffix). Compare German zwinkern (“to wink; twinkle”).
The verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object.