blinked

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past tense and past participle of blink.

   The cursor blinked steadily on the empty screen.

   Startled by the flash, she had blinked at the worst possible moment.

   Note

   One form does two grammatical jobs: the simple past stands alone (she blinked), while the past participle needs an auxiliary (she had blinked). It carries every meaning of blink, so it covers both eyes and lights: a person blinked at the flash, and a lamp blinked in the window. With an object it means clearing something from the eyes, as in she blinked away the tears. The same spelling also serves as the adjective for eye trouble.

2. 2
   adjective

   Suffering from a condition that causes frequent or involuntary blinking of the eyes.

   The blinked mare sold cheaply because of her constant eye trouble.

   Years of dust and glare left the old miner blinked and squinting.

   Note

   Here the participle has become a plain description of a condition, and it is absolute: an animal or person is blinked or is not, with no more blinked or very blinked. Word order separates it from the past tense. A blinked mare names the ailment, while the mare blinked reports a single movement of her eyes.

3. 3
   adjectivedialectalAppalachia

   Sour in flavor; sharp and acidic, as something that has turned.

   The innkeeper apologized for the blinked ale and poured a fresh round.

   By midsummer the cellar's last barrel had gone blinked and undrinkable.

   Similarsour, soured, off

   Oppositefresh

   Note

   A regional word of Appalachia for food or drink that has gone off, such as ale or the last barrel in a cellar. Outside that region, listeners will most likely hear the eye meaning, so sour or turned is the safer choice for a general audience. It is not comparable: something has gone blinked or it has not, so it behaves more like spoiled than like sharp.

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