inkling

[ ingk-ling ]

/ ˈɪŋk lɪŋ /

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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for inkling

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
It was on this visit last week that I got some inkling of what was in his mind.
Agent Nine Solves His First Case|Graham M. Dean
At first I knew not what to make of this; but soon an inkling of the truth occurred to me.
Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville
Suddenly his visits ceased, but Ser Federigo had no inkling of the reason.
The Children's Longfellow|Doris Hayman
Grace was there and Elkanah meant that these two should meet before any inkling of Ellery's story reached Nat's ears.
Keziah Coffin|Joseph C. Lincoln
There must be some dark business brewing of which they may have feared that I had an inkling.
Prester John|John Buchan

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

Word Origin and History for inkling

inkling

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

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of inkling

Examples from the Web for inkling

inkling

noun

Word Origin for inkling

inkling