particles

noun

plural of particle
1
as in specks
a very small amount there was not a particle of truth in what she said

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flecks
a very small piece a particle of cookie fell on the carpet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of particles Taken on July 24, during a particularly large influx of solar particles into the atmosphere, the observations reveal the full extent of the northern lights in UV light. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026 The rule also translates to an extra 90 tons a year of soot particles and 4,870 additional tons a year of smog components such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted into the air in coming years, experts say. — Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026 Electron microscopy and elemental analysis revealed that the iron-containing molecules were dispersed across the carbon at atomic and molecular scales rather than forming larger particles. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026 Frozen soil that has held buildings, roads and pipelines for decades can start to sink as temperatures rise and the ice that bonds soil particles weakens. — Ming Xiao, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026 The quantumness involved is simple, fleeting, and kind of unavoidable — even in a flask of dead chemicals, some tiny particles will tunnel through energetic barriers. — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026 Null results in this case redefine the search parameters for these tiny black holes and help perfect methods that can be used to hunt for new particles beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for particles
  1. specks
  2. flecks
  3. splashes
  4. bits
  5. sprinklings
  6. molecules
  7. hints
  8. grains
Noun
  • Calcium shows up as bright white specks on the coronary artery images.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Pulse a few times, until crumbs range in size from specks to peas.
    — Leah Eskin, Midwest Living, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of specks
Noun
  • The oversized jacket featured a furry white base adorned with flecks of silver, which beautifully mirrored the sumptuous coats on the runway.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Add the torn basil and process just until incorporated -- there will be flecks of green in the mixture.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of flecks
Noun
  • For all the back-to-back work, there were some splashes of imposter syndrome.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Surrounded by towering trees, Kitch-iti-kipi’s surface pulls rich green and teal hues during the spring and summer; splashes of orange and yellow during the fall; and hints of white come winter.
    — Savannah Born, Travel + Leisure, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of splashes
Noun
  • Drawn from the Times or local rags, the cutouts sometimes included images; others were just bits of text from the news or obituary sections.
    — Ryan Sullivan, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Unavoidably the text has been chopped and channeled, with some swapping of parts, bits of narration screwed into dialogue and events described in a paragraph blown out into scenes.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of bits
Noun
  • My grandmother’s version typically called just for the addition of generous sprinklings of Lawry’s garlic salt and black pepper—and that’s it.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 12 June 2026
Definition of sprinklings
Noun
  • The compound belongs to a chemical family that includes molecules responsible for the red color of blood and the green color of leaves.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Carbs are broken down into glucose molecules when digested and ultimately have the greatest impact on your blood sugar compared to other macronutrients like protein and fat.
    — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of molecules
Noun
  • Instead measure it by improvement, bright spots and hints of hope.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
  • That’s the Stuart who shows up periodically to give them clues or hints to try to help them on their way.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of hints
Noun
  • How Long Bird Seed Lasts Most bird seed lasts six to 12 months when stored properly, with high-oil food types generally spoiling faster than grains like corn, milo, millet, or oats.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The even mixing of the isotopes suggests that it was formed from fine dust grains rather than clumpy, coarser material.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of grains

Browse Nearby Words

particle
particles
parti-color
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Particles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/particles. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tittle

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All