inkling

noun

in·​kling ˈiŋ-kliŋ 

1

: a slight knowledge or vague notion

had not the faintest inkling of what it was all about

—H. W. Carter

2

: a slight indication or suggestion : hint, clue

there was no path—no inkling even of a track

—New Yorker

Did you know?

This may come as a surprise, but inkling has not a drop to do with ink, whether of squid, tattoo, or any other variety. Originating in English in the early 16th century, inkling comes instead from Middle English yngkiling, meaning “whisper or mention,” and perhaps further back from the verb inclen, meaning “to hint at.” An early sense of the word meant “a faint perceptible sound or undertone” or “rumor,” but now people usually use the word to refer to a vague notion someone has (“had an inkling they would be there”), or to a hint of something present (“a conversation with not even an inkling of anger”). One related word you might not have heard of is the rare verb inkle, a back-formation of inkling that in some British English dialects can mean “to utter or communicate in an undertone or whisper, to hint, give a hint of” or “to have an idea or notion of.” (Inkle is also a noun referring to “a colored linen tape or braid woven on a very narrow loom and used for trimming” but etymologists don’t have an inkling of where that inkle came from.)

Synonyms

• clue
• cue
• hint
• indication
• intimation
• lead
• suggestion

Examples of inkling in a Sentence

did not give the slightest inkling that he was planning to quit

Recent Examples on the Web

It will be first come, first served at the counter, so if have an early inkling that your flight will be delayed, don’t stray far from the departure gate. —Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025

Advertisement But the filmmakers know when to elongate tension elsewhere, as in a deliciously mean-spirited dinner scene in which the Count, armed with his unwitting targets’ secret sins, toys with them, a performance that also betrays an inkling of his cruelty’s perilousness. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024

While this viewer had an inkling of the plot twist in the conclusion, that certainly didn’t ruin Baltasar Kormákur’s slow art of unfurling this story. —Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2024

Derviş delivers a bleak story with an inkling of hope at its end—though her protagonist does not entirely earn his redemption. —The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English yngkiling whisper, mention, probably from inclen to hint at; akin to Old English inca suspicion

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

inkling

noun

in·​kling ˈiŋ-kliŋ 

: a vague notion : hint

didn't have an inkling of what it all meant