soupçon
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of soupçon
First recorded in 1760–70; from French: literally, “a suspicion,” Middle French sospeçon, from Late Latin suspectiōn- (stem of suspectiō ), for Latin suspīciō suspicion
Explanation
If you ask the waiter for a soupcon of hot sauce on your omelet, he will give you a dash of Tabasco, provided he knows what soupcon means. It's hard for English speakers not to think of soup when they see this word, especially since it can mean a trace of something (such as a flavor), but the ancestor of soupçon is the same one that gives us suspicion and suspect, the Latin suspectionem: the common theme is that of an idea formed from scant evidence.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The account has gotten widespread attention, in part for mixing its attacks with a soupçon of self-deprecation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
The desert setting and chomping alien monsters give “The Last Dance” a whiff of “Starship Troopers,” a soupçon of “Tremors,” nodding to those self-consciously campy B-movie creature features of yore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
In the face of so much frenzied curation and compulsory personal branding, how might a modern human maintain some iota of unshared selfhood, a soupçon of Greta Garbo mystique?
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2024
Renner takes to a larger moviemaking scale like a duck to water: “Migration’s” mélange tastes accessible enough, but his ingredients give it a soupçon of distinctive flavor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
“I’m mostly pecans. With just a soupçon of maple sugar.”
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
