different between scintillating vs interesting

English

Etymology

scintillate +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?nt??le?t??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?nt??le?t??/
• Hyphenation: scin?til?lat?ing

Verb

scintillating

1. present participle of scintillate.

Adjective

scintillating (comparative more scintillating, superlative most scintillating)

1. That scintillates with brief flashes of light; sparkling.
   • 1994, Edward St Aubyn, Bad News, Picador 2006, page 147:

     On the scintillating water yellow and blue boats bobbed up and down.

   • 2012 October 13, quoting Nguyen Chi Thien, “Nguyen Chi Thien: Nguyen Chi Thien, a Vietnamese poet, died on October 2nd, aged 73”, in The Economist^[1], archived from the original on 13 October 2012:

     They sank me into the ocean / Wishing me to remain in the depths. / I became a deep sea diver / And came up covered with scintillating pearls.

2. Brilliantly or impressively clever, exciting, amusing or witty.
   • 1864, Edgar Allan Poe, The Literati of New York - No. II - Anna Cora Mowatt:

     Her sketches and tales may be said to be cleverly written. They are lively, easy, conventional, scintillating with a species of sarcastic wit, which might be termed good were it in any respect original.

Translations

English

Etymology

From interest +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??nt??st??/, /??nt??st??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??nt???st??/, /??nt(?)??st??/, /??nt(?)??st??/, /??nt???st??/
• ,

Adjective

interesting (comparative more interesting, superlative most interesting)

1. (obsolete) Of concern; affecting, important.
   • 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford 2008, p. 48:

     He indeed had good reason to be offended; for though Dr. Swinfen's motive was good, he inconsiderately betrayed a matter deeply interesting and of great delicacy, which had been entrusted to him in conference […] .

2. Arousing or holding the attention or interest of someone.
   • 2015-11-22, Stan Lee, "Marvel's Stan Lee: 'I'd never really thought of doing comics for a living.'", The Guardian:

     Comics were just another form of entertainment to me, but it got to be more and more interesting every day.

3. (euphemistic) Pregnant. [from 18th c.]
   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. III, ch. 88:

     I found myself in a fair way of being a mother; and that I might be near my own relations, in such an interesting situation, I and my dear companion departed from H—n, not without great reluctance […] .

   • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby:

     Mrs Lenville (who, as has been before hinted, was in an interesting state) rushed from the rear rank of ladies, and uttering a piercing scream threw herself upon the body.

   • 1928, WB Maxwell, We Forget Because We Must:

     I'm afraid I seem to make heavy weather of my interesting condition.

Synonyms

• absorbing

Antonyms

• uninteresting
• boring

Derived terms

• interesting condition
• interestingly
• interestingness

Translations

Verb

interesting

1. present participle of interest