scin·til·la·tion

(sĭn′tl-ā′shən)

1. The act of scintillating.

2. A spark; a flash.

3. Astronomy Rapid variation in the light of a celestial body caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere; a twinkling.

4. Physics A flash of light produced in a phosphor by absorption of an ionizing particle or photon.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

scintillation

(ˌsɪntɪˈleɪʃən)

1. the act of scintillating

2. a spark or flash

3. (Astronomy) the twinkling of stars or radio sources, caused by rapid changes in the density of the earth's atmosphere, the interplanetary medium, or the interstellar medium, producing uneven refraction of starlight

4. (General Physics) physics a flash of light produced when a material scintillates

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

scin•til•la•tion

(ˌsɪn tlˈeɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the act of scintillating.

2. a spark or flash.

3. the twinkling or tremulous effect of the light of the stars.

4. a flash of light from the ionization of a phosphor struck by an energetic photon or particle.

[1615–25; < Medieval Latin scintillātiō twinkling of the stars. See scintillate, -tion]

scintillation

the process of giving of sparks or flashes, used of wit or humor and of the twinkling of the stars.

See also: Processes

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	scintillation - (physics) a flash of light that is produced in a phosphor when it absorbs a photon or ionizing particle natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" light, visible light, visible radiation - (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation; "the light was filtered through a soft glass window"
	2.	scintillation - a rapid change in brightness; a brief spark or flash sparkling, twinkle alteration, change, modification - an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another; "the change was intended to increase sales"; "this storm is certainly a change for the worse"; "the neighborhood had undergone few modifications since his last visit years ago"
	3.	scintillation - a brilliant display of wit genius, brilliance - unusual mental ability
	4.	scintillation - the quality of shining with a bright reflected light glisten, glister, glitter, sparkle brightness - the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
	5.	scintillation - the twinkling of the stars caused when changes in the density of the earth's atmosphere produce uneven refraction of starlight wavering, fluctuation - the quality of being unsteady and subject to changes; "he kept a record of price fluctuations"

scintillation

noun

Sparkling, brilliant light:

flash, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, shimmer, sparkle.

Translations

scintillio sfavillio scintillazione

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It is sad that I can remember nothing of all this scintillation. But I think the conversation never settled down so comfortably as when it turned to the details of the trade which was the other side of the art we practised.

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The few hundreds of years of Genoese and Venetian might and splendor were, to grave old Damascus, only a trifling scintillation hardly worth remembering.

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From a natural cause, these constellations shone with a soft luster; they did not twinkle, for there was no atmosphere which, by the intervention of its layers unequally dense and of different degrees of humidity, produces this scintillation. These stars were soft eyes, looking out into the dark night, amid the silence of absolute space.

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Whenever you may be sad, Raoul, I feel that my heart will be dissolved in sadness; and when you smile on thinking of me, be assured you will send me, from however remote a distance, a vital scintillation of your joy."

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And now he saw by the heap of shavings still fresh at his feet, that, for him and his work, the former lapse of time had been an illusion, and that no more time had elapsed than is required for a single scintillation from the brain of Brahma to fall on and inflame the tinder of a mortal brain.

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He threw off another little scintillation. 'Been out to-day, Mrs Lammle?'

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The shining matter was fluid and very adhesive: little spots, where the skin had been torn, continued bright with a slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured.

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The secret of the entire process hinges on the use of the ninth ray, one of the beautiful scintillations which I had noted emanating from the great stone in my host's diadem.

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The sun had set the evening before in a red mist, in the midst of the phosphorescent scintillations of the ocean.

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where the mind or the imagination that can grasp the gorgeous scintillations of unheard-of rays as they emanate from the thousand nameless jewels of Barsoom?

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3rd of May, remarked some very extraordinary scintillations. These jets of light, rapid in nature, and of frequent recurrence, they attributed to thunderstorms generated in the lunar atmosphere."

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Bellegarde always welcomed the prospect of a long stretch of conversation, and before long the two men sat watching the great blaze which scattered its scintillations over the high adornments of Newman's ball-room.

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