MEANING
1. To emit or appear to emit small flashes or sparks of light.
2. To show lively wit, brilliance, or intellectual sparkle.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- stars scintillate
- scintillating reflections
On the page
Reflections scintillated across the moving water.
The distant stars scintillated through the disturbed air.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- scintillate
- Past tense
- scintillated
- Past participle
- scintillated
- Present participle
- scintillating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- scintillate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are scintillating
- Present perfect
- have/has scintillated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been scintillating
- Past
- scintillated
- Past continuous
- was/were scintillating
- Past perfect
- had scintillated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been scintillating
- Future
- will scintillate
- Future continuous
- will be scintillating
- Future perfect
- will have scintillated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been scintillating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: scintillate; scintillates; scintillated; scintillated; scintillating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: scintillates.
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