a hint of
180
2.4
- idiom
:
toque de
- She added just a hint of salt to enhance the flavor of the soup.
- give a hint of
- even a hint of
- just a hint of
Inside the lavish chamber, a hint of sadness clouds her expression.
- Inside the lavish chamber, a hint of sadness clouds her expression.
- It smells like cardboard with a hint of chocolate.
- And the third reason was I noticed a hint of desperation in their voices.
- But what we find in the very end is a hint of reconciliation between them.
- I mean, to me it's you're sort of layering a hint of something to come.
- So just to give you a hint of why this is true.
- This is like a white with a hint of Gray and a hint of blue.
- But I do get a hint of that menthol vibe going on too.
- And, and and she, she, there was, there was a hint of what was to come.
Examples
-
This is a hint of things to come, and bam.
-
When she faced him, there was a hint of desperation in her eyes.
Fiction book (1991) -
You just want a hint of colour here, nothing more.
-
A few scenes at the very beginning give the audience a hint of the historical setting of the film.
Academic text (2012) -
You do see a hint of a new villain.
-
I detect a hint of blood.
-
The precipitation tonight is just a hint of what's yet to come!
-
Do I, uh, detect a hint of smugness in your voice?
-
"For the old ladies," Morgan added, allowing a hint of irritation to creep into his voice.
Fiction book (1991) -
The smell at certain times of the year is minty, with a hint of almond.
Synonyms
382
3.9
A sign that shows something is true or likely
69
3.2
A small, quick sign that something may be true
66
2.3
A small amount of something added to improve or change it
39
5.0
A small, faint feeling of hope or understanding
24
3.5
A small sign that something is there
6
7.7
A small hint that something is true or will happen
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
a + hint + of
The core noun 'hint' already denotes a small trace or slight amount, and the grammatical pattern 'a hint of X' literally marks a small quantity or suggestion of X. This compositional, cross‑linguistically common noun‑phrase pattern (article + noun + preposition) makes the meaning directly inferable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
A hint of comes from the image of a tiny sign or taste, like a single drop of lemon or a faint smell of perfume; the word hint here means a small, barely there piece of something. So saying a hint of means 'a very small amount' or just a light trace.