inkling

[ingk-ling]

See more 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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for inkling

Contemporary Examples

Based on the way they sprang into action on Friday, his family had more than an inkling of what might be ahead.
SB Shooting Prompts Question: Should Parents of Mentally Ill Adults Be Able To Commit Them?
Eleanor Clift
May 30, 2014
I took the elevator up to the second floor without any inkling of what was about to happen.
I Was Australia’s Anna Wintour
Kirstie Clements
April 3, 2014
Did he figure out all at once that Walt was Heisenberg, or do you think that he had an inkling earlier?
Dean Norris Deconstructs “Breaking Bad’s” Hank Schrader
Andrew Romano
September 2, 2013
Perhaps that should have been the first inkling that this might not be a totally kosher idea.
‘Blurred Lines,’ Robin Thicke’s Summer Anthem, Is Kind of Rapey
Tricia Romano
June 17, 2013
Her testimony was necessarily brief, as she had never met Valle, or had any inkling that he was stalking her.
Cannibal Cop’s Dark Fetishes Detailed in Grisly Trial Testimony
Michael Daly
February 27, 2013

Historical Examples

A day's visit from Paris will give you an inkling of this, but only an inkling.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
Then the parson had his first inkling that the strange visitor must be mad.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
I should judge, from that, he has an inkling of its value, and wants merely to corroborate it.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
When they had had sufficient to eat and drink he allowed them to get an inkling of what was in his mind.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
Force was useless: in some trick lay the chance; and I had already an inkling of what we must do.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for inkling

inkling

noun

a slight intimation or suggestion; suspicion

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for inkling

n.

c.1400, apparently from the gerund of Middle English verb inclen "utter in an undertone, hint at, hint" (mid-14c.), which is of unknown origin; perhaps related to Old English inca "doubt, suspicion."

inkling

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}inkling

Examples from the Web for inkling

Contemporary Examples

Based on the way they sprang into action on Friday, his family had more than an inkling of what might be ahead.

I took the elevator up to the second floor without any inkling of what was about to happen.

Did he figure out all at once that Walt was Heisenberg, or do you think that he had an inkling earlier?

Perhaps that should have been the first inkling that this might not be a totally kosher idea.

Her testimony was necessarily brief, as she had never met Valle, or had any inkling that he was stalking her.

Historical Examples

A day's visit from Paris will give you an inkling of this, but only an inkling.

Then the parson had his first inkling that the strange visitor must be mad.

I should judge, from that, he has an inkling of its value, and wants merely to corroborate it.

When they had had sufficient to eat and drink he allowed them to get an inkling of what was in his mind.

Force was useless: in some trick lay the chance; and I had already an inkling of what we must do.

inkling

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for inkling

n.

Origin of inkling