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inkling

[ ingk-ling ]
/ ˈɪŋk lɪŋ /
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noun
a slight suggestion or indication; hint; intimation: They hadn't given us an inkling of what was going to happen.
a vague idea or notion; slight understanding: They didn't have an inkling of how the new invention worked.
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Origin of inkling

1505–15; obsolete inkle to hint (Middle English inklen) + -ing1; akin to Old English inca suspicion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inkling in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for inkling

inkling
/ (ˈɪŋklɪŋ) /

noun
a slight intimation or suggestion; suspicion

Word Origin for inkling

C14: probably from inclen to hint at; related to Old English inca
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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