scintillate

• POS: Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: scin=til=late

CIDE DICTIONARY

scintillate, v. i. [L. scintillare, scintillatum, from scintilla a spark. Cf. Stencil.].

•  To emit sparks, or fine igneous particles.  [1913 Webster]

  "As the electrical globe only scintillates when rubbed against its cushion."  [1913 Webster]
•  To sparkle, as the fixed stars.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

scintillate, v.intr.
1 (esp. as scintillating adj.) talk cleverly or wittily; be brilliant.
2 sparkle; twinkle; emit sparks.
3 Physics fluoresce momentarily when struck by a charged particle etc.

Derivative

scintillant adj. scintillatingly adv.

Etymology

L scintillare (as SCINTILLA)

THESAURUS

scintillate

be brilliant, be merry with, blink, coruscate, crack a joke, crack wise, fleer at, fun, gibe at, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisk, glisten, glister, glitter, jape, jest, joke, josh, kid, kid around, make a funny, make fun, make fun of, mock, play on words, poke fun at, pun, quip, ridicule, scoff at, shimmer, spangle, spark, sparkle, tinsel, twinkle, utter a mot, wisecrack

ROGET THESAURUS

scintillate

Light

VB shine, glow, glitter, glister, glisten, twinkle, gleam, flare, flare up, glare, beam, shimmer, glimmer, flicker, sparkle, scintillate, coruscate, flash, blaze, be bright, reflect light, daze, dazzle, bedazzle, radiate, shoot out beams, fulgurate, clear up, brighten, lighten, enlighten, levin, light, light up, irradiate, shine upon, give out a light, hang out a light, cast light upon, cast light in, throw light upon, throw light in, shed light upon, shed luster upon, illume, illumine, illuminate, relume, strike a light, kindle.