scintillating
[sin-tl-ey-ting]
- animated; vivacious; effervescent: a scintillating personality.
- witty; brilliantly clever: a scintillating conversationalist; a play full of scintillating dialogue.
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Origin of scintillating
scintillate
[sin-tl-eyt]
- to emit sparks.
- to sparkle; flash: a mind that scintillates with brilliance.
- to twinkle, as the stars.
- Electronics. (of a spot of light or image on a radar display) to shift rapidly around a mean position.
- Physics.
- (of the amplitude, phase, or polarization of an electromagnetic wave) to fluctuate in a random manner.
- (of an energetic photon or particle) to produce a flash of light in a phosphor by striking it.
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- to emit as sparks; flash forth.
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Origin of scintillate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
brilliantexcitingdazzlingsparklinglivelyanimatedtwinklinggleamingsmartshiningglimmeringglintingflashingcleverebullientsprightlywittyExamples from the Web for scintillating
Contemporary Examples
With some scintillating play, Die Oranje backed up their standing as dark horses for the tournament.
And thus as scintillating, as thrilling as they often are to watch, they also come tinged with tragedy for those who “blew it.”
And thus as scintillating, as thrilling as they often are to watch, they also come tinged with tragedy for those who "blew it."
Historical Examples
Oh, life was one scintillating cluster breast-pin of ecstasies!
Dr. SevierGeorge W. Cable
It remained on the crest, however, frozen and scintillating.
The Trimming of GoosieJames Hopper
Light, everywhere light; scintillating, dancing, swinging light!
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
He threw himself full on the point of the scintillating vibroblade.
Unwise ChildGordon Randall Garrett
His satire is keen, but delicate, and his wit is scintillating and brilliant.
Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XIIWilliam Faux
scintillating
- sparkling; twinkling
- animated or brilliant
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scintillate
- (also tr) to give off (sparks); sparkle; twinkle
- to be animated or brilliant
- physics to give off flashes of light as a result of the impact of particles or photons
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin scintillāre, from scintilla a spark
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 scintillating
scintillate
v.
1620s, from Latin scintillatus, past participle of scintillare "to sparkle, glitter, gleam, flash," from scintilla "spark" (see scintilla). Related: Scintillated; scintillating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper