Library / English Dictionary

SPARK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Merriment expressed by a brightness or gleam or animation of countenance

Example:

there's a perpetual twinkle in his eyes

Synonyms:

light; spark; sparkle; twinkle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("spark" is a kind of...):

verve; vitality (an energetic style)

aspect; expression; face; facial expression; look (the feelings expressed on a person's face)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A momentary flash of light

Synonyms:

flicker; glint; spark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("spark" is a kind of...):

flash (a sudden intense burst of radiant energy)

Derivation:

spark (emit or produce sparks)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small fragment of a burning substance thrown out by burning material or by friction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("spark" is a kind of...):

fragment (a piece broken off or cut off of something else)

Derivation:

spark (emit or produce sparks)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Scottish writer of satirical novels (born in 1918)

Synonyms:

Dame Muriel Spark; Muriel Sarah Spark; Muriel Spark; Spark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

author; writer (writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field

Synonyms:

arc; discharge; electric arc; electric discharge; spark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("spark" is a kind of...):

electrical conduction (the passage of electricity through a conductor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spark"):

brush discharge (discharge between electrodes creating visible streamers of ionized particles)

corona; corona discharge; corposant; electric glow; Saint Elmo's fire; Saint Elmo's light; Saint Ulmo's fire; Saint Ulmo's light; St. Elmo's fire (an electrical discharge accompanied by ionization of surrounding atmosphere)

flashover (an unintended electric discharge (as over or around an insulator))

Derivation:

spark (emit or produce sparks)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger

Example:

a spark of decency

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("spark" is a kind of...):

hint; suggestion; tint; trace (a just detectable amount)

Derivation:

spark (put in motion or move to act)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put in motion or move to act

Example:

actuate the circuits

Synonyms:

activate; actuate; set off; spark; spark off; touch off; trigger; trigger off; trip

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "spark" is one way to...):

initiate; pioneer (take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of)

Cause:

come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

spark (a small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Emit or produce sparks

Example:

A high tension wire, brought down by a storm, can continue to spark

Synonyms:

spark; sparkle

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Hypernyms (to "spark" is one way to...):

emit; give off; give out (give off, send forth, or discharge; as of light, heat, or radiation, vapor, etc.)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

spark (a momentary flash of light)

spark (a small fragment of a burning substance thrown out by burning material or by friction)

spark (electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Dry and worm-eaten, a spark upon them became a smoulder, and a smoulder a blaze.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Now, I’ll state the case clearly and concisely to you, Watson, and maybe you can see a spark where all is dark to me.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And as they continued to fall upon him, the spark of life within flickered and went down.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

To such an extent was he tormented, that he hated blindly and without the faintest spark of reason.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The gaslight which I had left lit for Jonathan, but turned down, came only like a tiny red spark through the fog, which had evidently grown thicker and poured into the room.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The eCB system affects the brain’s motivation and reward circuits and can spark a desire for tasty foods.

(Molecular ties between lack of sleep and weight gain, NIH)

However, increasing regulations and growing public health concerns about synthetic repellents and insecticides like DEET have sparked interest in developing plant-based repellents that are more effective and longer lasting.

(Coconut Oil Compounds Repel Insects Better than DEET, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Among Bennu's many surprises, the particle ejections sparked our curiosity, and we've spent the last several months investigating this mystery, said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

(NASA's OSIRIS-REx Explains Bennu Mystery Particles, NASA)

At some point we were looking at increasingly less-plausible mechanisms, like if tectonic plates were rubbing against each other, could you get a plasma spark that generated phosphine?

(Poisonous Earthly Molecule May Be Sign of Extraterrestrial Life, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)