inkling
noun/ˈɪŋklɪŋ/
/ˈɪŋklɪŋ/
[usually singular]- a slight knowledge of something that is happening or about to happen synonym suspicion
- inkling (of something) He had no inkling of what was going on.
- inkling (that…) The first inkling I had that something was wrong was when I found the front door wide open.
Extra Examples- The first inkling we had of Cliff's problem was when he didn't come to work.
- We didn't have the slightest inkling of the dramatic news we were about to hear.
- I had some vague inkling of what she must have gone through.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- first
- faintest
- slightest
- …
- have (no)
- get
- give (somebody)
- …
- inkling of
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘a mention in an undertone, a hint’): from the rare verb inkle ‘utter in an undertone’, of unknown origin.
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inkling