scintillate
/ˈsɪn.tɪˌleɪt/
scintillate · verb — to give off sparks; to shine as if emanating sparks; to twinkle or glow. It carries an Arena rating of 1644, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, scintillate ranks #352 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,043 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words, #1,271 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #1,381 of 17,180 for Most Ingenious Words.
scintillate is pronounced /ˈsɪn.tɪˌleɪt/.
Why “scintillate” is a great word
To emit sparks or to shine with a sparkling or twinkling light. From Latin scintillātus, past participle of scintillāre ("to sparkle, glitter"), from scintilla ("a spark"), first attested in English in the 1620s. Unlike "glitter," which suggests a bright, showy, and often superficial reflection of light, or "gleam," which implies a steady, soft emission, to scintillate is to produce a rapid, intrinsic, and lively sparking. It is the cold, mathematical fire of a diamond under a lamp, the brief and frantic constellation of sunlight on choppy water, or the silent, distant Morse code of a star seen through a turbulent atmosphere—a visible trembling against the dark, proof that light is not a placid field, but a shaken handful of bright coins.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin scintillātus, past participle of scintillāre (“to sparkle, glitter, gleam, flash”), from scintilla (“a spark”).
verb
- To give off sparks; to shine as if emanating sparks; to twinkle or glow.
- Of a star or other celestial body: to vary rapidly in brightness; to twinkle.
- Especially of a phosphor: to emit a flash of light upon absorbing ionizing radiation.
- To dazzle or to impress.
- To throw off like sparks.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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