scintilla
noun
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
Examples of scintilla in a Sentence
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
See all Example Sentences for scintilla 
Dictionary Entries Near scintilla
Cite this Entry
“Scintilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scintilla. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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scintilla
noun
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