scintillant


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scin·til·la

 (sĭn-tĭl′ə)
n. pl. scin·til·las
1. A minute amount; an iota or trace.
2. pl. also scin·til·lae (sĭn-tĭl′ē) A spark; a flash.

[Latin, spark.]

scin′til·lant adj.

scin·til·late

 (sĭn′tl-āt′)
intr.v. scin·til·lat·ed, scin·til·lat·ing, scin·til·lates
1. To send forth light in flashes; sparkle. See Synonyms at flash.
2. To be scintillating: dinner conversation that scintillated.

[Latin scintillāre, scintillāt-, from scintilla, spark.]

scin′til·lant adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.scintillant - having brief brilliant points or flashes of lightscintillant - having brief brilliant points or flashes of light; "bugle beads all aglitter"; "glinting eyes"; "glinting water"; "his glittering eyes were cold and malevolent"; "shop window full of glittering Christmas trees"; "glittery costume jewelry"; "scintillant mica"; "the scintillating stars"; "a dress with sparkly sequins"; "`glistering' is an archaic term"
bright - emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts; "the sun was bright and hot"; "a bright sunlit room"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in classic literature ?
They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope), And are far up in Heaven -- the stars I kneel to In the sad, silent watches of my night; While even in the meridian glare of day I see them still -- two sweetly scintillant Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!
It seemed the forest now or nothing, and I was just on the point of motioning Tars Tarkas to follow me in that direction when the sun passed the cliff's zenith, and as the bright rays touched the dull surface it burst out into a million scintillant lights of burnished gold, of flaming red, of soft greens, and gleaming whites--a more gorgeous and inspiring spectacle human eye has never rested upon.
Of all the holy of holies which the thern venerates and worships none is more revered than the yellow wig which covers his bald pate, and next thereto comes the circlet of gold and the great diadem, whose scintillant rays mark the attainment of the Tenth Cycle.
Moving through the sunlit garden at the side of the great Warlord, the scintillant rays of his countless gems enveloping him as in an aureole of light imparted to his noble figure a suggestion of godliness.
For a half hour the torrents fell--then the sun burst forth, jeweling the forest with a million scintillant gems; but today the ape-man, usually alert to the changing wonders of the jungle, saw them not.
But the flashes were more brilliant than the rainbow--purest blue, most delicate violet, brightest yellow, and all the intermediary shades, with the scintillant brilliancy of the diamond, dazzling, blinding, iridescent.
Of course, by privileging a certain "not knowing," returning to where knowledge always isn't, at the core of history, all the while relentlessly pursuing rare pearls of what remains of the verifiable, Filipovic produces her own paradox: With her scintillant endeavor, she puts to rest some of the rumors swirling around the artist and his work, trusting others will remain and accrue.
The following summer, he debuted at Glyndebourne, in a new production of Ravel's two scintillant one-acters, L'heure espagtiole and L'enfant et les sortileges.
Les valeurs sont pietinees et la fraude est consideree comme un astre scintillant. Nous devons revenir a l'education morale et civique car la societe algerienne a perdu ses reperes, et sans une therapie de choc, ces decisions ne survivront pas a l'usure du temps.