nictitating

N1I1C3T1I1T1A1T1I1N1G2
/ˈnɪktɪteɪtɪŋ/

adjective

winking, blinking

OriginLatin nictitō →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

adjectivenictitating (comparative more nictitating, superlative most nictitating)

comparative more nictitating · superlative most nictitating

  1. winking, blinking

    But she gave me only a dry look. A blink crossed the table. It even seemed to come from the bottom of her eye upward, like a nictitating membrane.

    1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 406
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of nictitate

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
nictitant

Origin

  1. Latinnictitō
  2. Englishnictitating

From the past participle stem of Latin nictitō, frequentative form of nictō (“to wink”) (see English nictate).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French nictitant, clignotant
  • nictitantwinking, blinking
  • clignotantwinking, blinking
Italian nittitante
  • nittitantewinking, blinking
Spanish nictitante
  • nictitantewinking, blinking
Cite this entry
APA

nictitating. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nictitating

MLA

“nictitating.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nictitating. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nictitating,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nictitating.

Source: nictitating on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.