particles

noun

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

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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 Neutrinos bump into other particles only rarely, so scientists build large detectors to improve their odds of catching collisions. — Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026 Relativistic means travelling at speeds near that of light, with the blazar's central supermassive black hole as the engine that accelerated these particles. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2026 As things currently stand, the rubber particles which are continuously shed by conventional tires are one of the main sources of microplastics pollution. — Ben Coxworth october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026 Person-to-person transmission of pneumonic plague generally requires close exposure to respiratory particles from someone who is actively ill, and asymptomatic transmission has not been documented. — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026 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 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
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
  • Topping up the battery takes 90 minutes, according to Shift Robotics, and an IP54 rating means the shoes shrug off splashes but would not enjoy a swim.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Dual 6-watt drivers push 12 watts of stereo sound, BassUp gives the low end a little extra kick, and the IPX7 waterproof build means splashes and rain aren’t a crisis.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 28 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 2026 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Henri Kagan of the Universite Paris-Sud, in France, and Kenso Soai of the Tokyo University of Science, in Japan, for their work exploring the fundamental geometry of molecules.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
  • At the center of the MOF are positively charged metal ions connected by organic linker molecules.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 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
  • This internal pressure eventually forces the microstructure to recrystallize on its own, spawning fresh, dramatically finer grains from within.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Its factories receive small grains of refined metal from recyclers in Europe and Asia, sourced from items ranging from medical equipment to old cutlery, said Pandora’s chief sustainability officer Mads Twomey-Madsen.
    — Aniruddha Ghosal, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of grains

Browse Nearby Words

particle
particles
parti-color
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Cite this Entry

“Particles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/particles. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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