inkling

[ ingk-ling ]
/ ˈɪŋk lɪŋ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR inkling ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Words nearby inkling

inkerman, inkhorn, inkhorn term, inkle, inkle loom, inkling, inkstand, inkster, inkstone, inkwell, inkwood
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to inkling

indication, hunch, impression, conception, intimation, lead, hint, innuendo, whisper, tip, cue, suspicion, suggestion, notion, glimmering, tipoff

Example sentences from the Web for inkling

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