vilauttaa

Vilauttaa is a Finnish verb meaning to flash or reveal something briefly, to show it quickly rather than in full. The nuance is one of speed and partial visibility, often implying a short or tentative display rather than a complete presentation. It can be used both with tangible things and with more abstract cues or expressions.

In everyday language, vilauttaa is commonly used for brief, momentary displays such as a facial expression or a hint of something seen or revealed. Typical examples include vilauttaa hymyä (“to flash a smile”) and vilauttaa välähdys juonesta in contexts describing a quick hint or preview. The sense is often visual or perceptual, but it can be figurative as well, as in signaling or hinting at something without giving full details.

Grammatically, vilauttaa is a transitive verb. The bare infinitive is vilauttaa, with present tense forms such as minä vilauttan and hän vilauttaa; the past tense is vilautti. Participles include vilauttava (present active) and vilautettu (passive past). It generally follows regular Finnish verb conjugation patterns of its class.

Etymology traces Vilau- to a root related to flicker or blink, akin to words like vilkku (blink signal) and vilkutus (flicker or signal). This lineage reflects the core sense of a quick, partial display or signal rather than a sustained exposure.