scintillation
/ˌsɪn.təˈleɪ.ʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.23 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The twinkling of a star or other celestial body caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The flash of light produced by something (especially a phosphor) when it absorbs ionizing radiation.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Do the stars scintillate at all altitudes? Is there any altitude at which it ceases to manifest itself? At Morges the stars in general scintillate at all altitudes, although feebly near the zenith; but on the nights when the scintillation is very faint, it ceases completely at a zenith distance of 45°."
- "It is generally believed that the planets do not scintillate at all, or scarcely at all. Nevertheless I have often observed a sensible scintillation of Venus and Mars, and in a few rare cases I have also observed a slight scintillation of Jupiter and Saturn. […] I would therefore call the attention of observers who may find themselves under atmospherical conditions of a nature to render the general scintillation very strong, to this point, as they might perhaps be able to ascertain whether Jupiter and Saturn ever sensibly scintillate."
- "[…]here and there were Latin inscriptions—obscene scintillations of wit[…]"
Etymology
Etymology tree English scintillate Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English -ion English scintillation From scintillate + -ion.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌsɪn.təˈleɪ.ʃən/
- British English: /ˌsɪn.tɪˈleɪ.ʃən/