nictitate

/ˈnɪktɪteɪt/
verb
  1. To blink or wink; to close and open the eyelids quickly.
    • The owl nictitated slowly as it stared into the bright light.
    • She tried not to nictitate while the photographer took her picture.
    • Many reptiles nictitate to clean their eyes without using their hands.
Synonyms
What does "nictitate" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean