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sprinkle

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To cause to fall in fine drops or small pieces.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

springkuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɹɪŋkəl

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

  1. transitive

    To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance).

  2. transitive

    To cover (an object) by sprinkling a substance on to it.

  3. intransitive

    To drip in fine drops, sometimes sporadically.

  4. intransitive

    To rain very lightly outside.

  5. transitive

    To baptize by the application of a few drops, or a small quantity, of water; hence, to cleanse; to purify.

  6. Rain gently

    “It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick.”

noun

  1. A light shower that falls in some locations and not others nearby

  2. A light rain shower.

  3. An aspersorium or utensil for sprinkling.

  4. A small hard piece of sugar and starch, or chocolate, used to decorate cakes etc.

  5. A light covering with a sprinkled substance.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance).

Used this way, sprinkle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
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 sprinkle

  • “It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

sprinkle watersprinkle lightlysprinkle saltsprinkle evenly

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • sprinklesnounPlural form

    Bits of sweet chocolate used as a topping on e.g. ice cream.

  • sprinklernounInflected form

    Mechanical device that attaches to a garden hose for watering lawn or garden.

  • sprinklingnounInflected form

    A small number (of something) dispersed haphazardly.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance)

dustspatter

noun

Sense: light shower that falls in some locations and not others nearby

dust

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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.