scintilla

scintilla
noun
scin·;til·;la sin-;ti-l;
Synonyms of scintilla
: spark, trace
not a scintilla of doubt


Did you know?
Wonder what scintillas (or scintillae) are? It may help spark your memory to look up above the world so high at the tiny (to our eyes) stars twinkling like diamonds in the sky. Scintilla comes directly from Latin, where it refers to a spark—that is, a bright flash such as you might see from a burning ember (the noun scintilla is related to the verb scintillare, which means “to sparkle” and is responsible for the English verb scintillate meaning “to sparkle or gleam”). In the 17th century, English carried over this “glittering particle” sense, which is still in use today, as when Scottish writer Rudi Zygadlo wrote of the Gulf of Mexico “fizzing with scintillas underneath the rising sun.” In the same century, people also began using scintilla figuratively for a hint or trace of something that barely suggests its presence. Today this sense is much more common, and especially found in negative statements, such as “We have not a scintilla of doubt that you are now humming ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’”

Synonyms
ace
bit
crumb
dab
dram
driblet
glimmer
hint
lick
little
mite
nip
ounce
particle
peanuts
ray
scruple
shade
shadow
shred
skosh
smack
smell
smidgen
smidgeon
smidgin
smidge
snap
soup;on
spark
spatter
speck
splash
spot
sprinkling
strain
streak
suspicion
tad
touch
trace
Examples of scintilla in a Sentence
there is not a scintilla of evidence for your outrageous claims
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For two supposedly unhinged psychopaths who are meant to be enabling each other’s madness, Arthur and Lee don’t have a scintilla of creativity between them.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2024
Just a scintilla of resignation that no-Butler makes a Celtics series look grim.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024
Under the old law, the guardian of the person could handle only small amounts of the ward’s funds, which meant that if the ward had more than a scintilla of money, then the court had to appoint a guardian of the estate.
—Virginia Hammerle, Dallas News, 13 Aug. 2023
There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 31 May 2023

Word History
Etymology
Latin

First Known Use
1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scintilla was in 1661
See more words from the same year