winky

W4I1N1K5Y4
/ˈwɪŋki/

adjective

Tending to wink; winking.

“a winky smiley face”

UncommonScrabble 15

Meanings

winky1

adjectivewinky (comparative more winky, superlative most winky)

comparative more winky · superlative most winky

  1. Tending to wink; winking.

    a winky smiley face

    4 more examples

    Dickens aficionados will delight in winky references to his novels, as well as to his biography: Jenny Wren of “Our Mutual Friend” lends a nickname to Miss Ricketts; Alfred’s brother’s name is Sydney (as in Carton); and the One and Only’s death has left a “Drood”-like novel unfinished, occasioning wild speculation about its conclusion.

    2009 July 12, Susann Cokal, “Bleak Housekeeping”, in New York Times

    ‘Yeah, but I put a winky smiley face on it. Did you not see?’ ‘That was a sad smiley face, you total fucking moron.[…]’

    2007, Stephen J. Martin, Rock and a Hard Place, Mercier Press Ltd, →ISBN, page 276

    He had included a winky face in his previous response. You don't haphazardly throw a winky face around like it's a thumbs-up or praise hands.

    2018, Lincee Ray, Why I Hate Green Beans […] , Baker Books, →ISBN

    I send a winky face emoji right after this, so he knows I am just teasing him.

    2021, Theresa Leigh, Cluck Buddies: A Friends With Benefits Romance, LuxLife Publishing
nounwinky (plural winkies)

plural winkies

  1. An emoticon or smiley that shows a winking face, such as ;-) or 😉.

    Crap, he sent a winky back. That was not good. Mixed signals were a bad way to start any kind of beginning, whether it was love or friendship.

    2015, Mara Reitsma, Amethyst Attraction, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 113

winky2

nounwinky (plural winkies)

plural winkies

  1. childishslangThe penis.

    Next, on with his favourite budgie smugglers. His sequined posing pouch. No winky shrinkage for him.

    2023 April 21, John Crace, “Psycho goes down raging: the liberal wokerati finally get to Raab”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    3 more examples

    “They never shower with us,” says Shipley, glancing up from his calculator. “I’ve never even seen their winkies.”

    1982, Robert Lipsyte, Inside Sports, page 71

    She had seen him naked many times and that was how he was. But this! His winky was — well, enormous now. And standing up. And looked positively gigantic and very stiff and proud!

    1984, Frederic Young, Many Ingenious Lovely Things, →ISBN, page 23

    ‘And like when I went to the toilet last week and caught my winky in my zip. I cried for ages then.’ ‘Wogan!' gasped Flora. 'What is wrong with you?’ […] ‘“Winky”? That's a very babyish name for it. It's called your “dangly-wangly”.’

    2020, Sam Copeland, Charlie Morphs Into a Mammoth, Penguin, →ISBN

    Synonyms: anaconda, baloney pony, bald-headed hermit, banana, bird, birdie, bobby, boonga

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

winky · adjective, noun

From wink + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

winky · noun

Perhaps the same as etymology 1, above. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, suggests derivation from winkle, a variant of periwinkle, plus diminutive -y. First attested in the 1950s.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with winky

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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