French word

cligner

Pronunciation

IPA/kliɲe/

Meaning

  • verbblink

Example

Elle cligne des yeux.

She blinks.

Illustration for cligner (blink)

More examples

Il cligne de l'œil pour attirer mon attention.

He winks to draw my attention.

Core concept

Eyelids briefly closing and opening, usually in both eyes but sometimes in one eye as a signal.

Common phrases

  • cligner des paupières

    blink one's eyelids

  • cligner de l'œil

    wink

Similar words

cligner de l'œil: Wink briefly with one eye to convey a signal.
fermer les yeux: Close the eyelids completely, making it impossible to see.
loucher: Narrow the eyes in an effort to focus on something.

Definition in French

Fermer brièvement les paupières et les rouvrir rapidement ; sens courant = le clignement naturel (cligner des yeux), mais la locution 'cligner de l'œil' peut indiquer un clin d'œil volontaire.

Word origin

Cligner comes from Old French clignier and is generally considered imitative in origin; related French forms include clignoter and clin d'oeil.

Usage tips

  • The usual expression for blinking is cligner des yeux, while cligner de l'oeil can describe a deliberate wink.

Other meanings

  • winkverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word