sparkle

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To emit sparks; to throw off ignited or incandescent particles.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spahrkuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɑɹkəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

intransitive
To emit sparks; to throw off ignited or incandescent particles
transitive
To emit in the form or likeness of sparks.
Emit or produce sparks
“A high tension wire, brought down by a storm, can continue to spark.”
by extension
To shine as if throwing off sparks; to emit flashes of light; to scintillate; to twinkle
intransitive
To manifest itself by, or as if by, emitting sparks; to glisten; to flash.
intransitive
To emit little bubbles, as certain kinds of liquors; to effervesce

noun

The quality of being sparkling or fizzy; effervescence.
The occurrence of a small flash or spark
A little spark; a scintillation.
Brilliance; luster.
Liveliness; vivacity.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: C1 · Advanced
Frequency: Moderately Common
Typical Use: Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To emit sparks; to throw off ignited or incandescent particles

Used this way, sparkle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use sparkle

“He had a sparkle in his eye.”noun
“Unquarried marble sparkled on the hillside.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

eyes sparklesparkle through

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

spark
To give off a spark or sparks.
fizz
To emit bubbles.
foam
To form or emit foam.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

sparklingnounInflected form
A rapid change in brightness.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

sparkle metalnounCompound term
Matte that has 74 percent copper.
sparkling waternounCompound term
Effervescent beverage artificially charged with carbon dioxide.
sparkling winenounCompound term
Effervescent wine.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.