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Glite Dictionary
💡 To shine intellectually ✨ To sparkle
to scintillate

to scintillate

2 8.5
To give off small bright flashes of light
  • verb
  • /ˈsɪntɪˌleɪt/
translation icon : centellear
  • Women's dresses glowing, scintillating.
  • scintillating light
  • scintillating crystals

Examples

  • The rock p178 and ice layers scintillated, sparkling with emerald, ruby, and sapphire; it was a pretty show for Bandicut, but also information for the recorder.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The waters cleared before me, then scintillated around me.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The rich aesthetic of scintillating gold, mosaic, silver, and marble.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit's claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The stars scintillate in the night sky, creating a breathtaking display of light.

  • As the fireworks exploded overhead, they scintillated brilliantly against the dark backdrop.

  • The surface of the lake scintillated with sunlight, making it look like a sea of diamonds.

Synonyms

to flash
vsto scintillate
89 1.0

To give a sudden short bright light

consists of repeated small bright points rather than a single brief burst
to blink
vsto scintillate
49 2.0

To flash on and off quickly like a light

creates many tiny shimmering points instead of mechanical on off switching
to twinkle
vsto scintillate
26 1.5

To shine with small quick flashes of light, often in eyes or stars

produces clearer, more numerous bright points rather than soft flicker
to sparkle
vsto scintillate
26 1.0

To shine with small bright flashes of light

creates similar many small points but often with quicker tiny bursts
to flare
vsto scintillate
18 4.2

To burn or shine with a sudden bright light

is composed of many small bright points rather than one strong burst
to strobe
vsto scintillate
2 5.4

To flash on and off quickly

is natural shimmering light rather than mechanical rapid switching
to coruscate
vsto scintillate
  • Literature
1 9.9

To flash or sparkle with bright light

gives many small points of bright light rather than strong beams
to glister
vsto scintillate
  • Archaic
1 8.8

To shine with small bright flashes

gives more active tiny points of light rather than a steady gleam

Antonyms

to darken
63 3.3

Make or become less bright, for example a room

to dull
33 3.4

Cause something to become less sharp, strong or bright

How Bright

to blaze
58 3.4
to scintillate
2 8.5
to flicker
60 3.6
to glimmer
12 3.9

Surface Forms

scintillate infinitive
scintillated past
scintillated past participle
scintillating present participle
scintillates third person singular

Morphology

scintillate = scintill (opaque) = scintill + ate

The base 'scintill' is not a recognizable English word, so the derivation is opaque to learners.

Etymology

Scintillate comes from the Latin word scintilla, which means 'spark', and the verb scintillare, 'to sparkle'. So when something scintillates it gives off many little 'sparks' and shines or sparkles brightly.