- sparkling; twinkling
- animated or brilliant
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
scin•til•lat•ing /ˈsɪntəˌleɪtɪŋ/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- animated, clever, or witty:a scintillating conversation.
scin•til•lat•ing
(sin′tl ā′ting),USA pronunciation adj.
scin′til•lat′ing•ly, adv.
- animated;
vivacious;
effervescent:a scintillating personality. - witty;
brilliantly clever:a scintillating conversationalist; a play full of scintillating dialogue.
- scintillate + -ing1 1880–85
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
scintillating /ˈsɪntɪˌleɪtɪŋ/ adj
scin•til•late
(sin′tl āt′),USA pronunciation v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing.
v.i.
v.t.
v.i.
- 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.
v.t.
- to emit as sparks;
flash forth.
- Latin scintillātus (past participle of scintillāre to send out sparks, flash). See scintilla, -ate1
- 1615–25
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
scintillate /ˈsɪntɪˌleɪt/ vb (mainly intr)
- (also tr) to give off (sparks); sparkle; twinkle
- to be animated or brilliant
- to give off flashes of light as a result of the impact of particles or photons
'scintillating' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):