scintilla

noun

scin·til·la sin-ˈti-lə

Synonyms of scintilla next

: spark, trace

not a scintilla of doubt

Did you know?

Scintilla comes directly from Latin, where it carries the meaning of "spark" - that is, a bright flash such as you might see from a burning ember. In English, however, our use of "scintilla" is restricted to the figurative sense of "spark" - a hint or trace of something that barely suggests its presence. The Latin scintilla is related to the verb "scintillare," which means "to sparkle" and is responsible for our verb "scintillate" ("to sparkle or gleam," literally or figuratively). In an odd twist, "scintilla" underwent a transposition of the "c" and the "t" (a linguistic phenomenon known as metathesis) to create the Vulgar Latin form stincilla, which is believed to be an ancestor of our word stencil.

Examples of scintilla in a Sentence

there is not a scintilla of evidence for your outrageous claims

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 See all Example Sentences for scintilla