inkling

Glimmer of awareness

An inkling is a slight hint or vague idea about something: I had no inkling they were planning a surprise party.

The word suggests incomplete knowledge—you sense something without fully grasping it.

An inkling falls short of certainty or even strong suspicion; it's the faintest stirring of awareness.

suspicion

hint

Indirect suggestion

clueSolving aid
whiffBrief, faint smell
suggestionIdea proposed for consideration

trace · glimmer · sneaking suspicion · intimation · whisper · scent · indication · sign · hunch · misgiving

intuition

gut feeling

Instinctive sense about something

instinctInnate behavioral tendency
sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
sensePerception or judgment

feeling · premonition · presentiment · forewarning · hunch · insight · perception · awareness · inner voice · subconscious

knowledge

idea

Mental formation

notionImprecise mental impression
conceptAbstract mental construct
understandingMental comprehension of something

awareness · comprehension · grasp · cognition · perception · thought · belief · impression · glimpse · smattering

Categories

cluesclue, clues, hint, hints, cue
gut feelingsgut feeling, gut instinct, gut reaction, hunch, instinct
hintshint, clue, tip, nudge, cue
doubtdoubt, doubts, doubting, doubtful, skepticism
foresightforesight, precognition, futurology, forethought, premonition
guessesguess, conjecture, supposition, speculation, surmise

Opposites

degree of knowledge

inklingcertainty

Total absence of doubt

comprehension · mastery · expertise · answer · solution

epistemic certainty

inklingcertainty

Total absence of doubt

absolute certainty · assurance · confidence · conviction · assuredness

definiteness of information

inklingproof

Demonstration of truth

evidence · confirmation · answer · solution · fact

Family

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G