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Trickle vs Sprinkle - What's the difference?

trickle | sprinkle |

In transitive terms the difference between trickle and sprinkle

is that trickle is to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously while sprinkle is to baptize by the application of a few drops, or a small quantity, of water; hence, to cleanse; to purify.

In intransitive terms the difference between trickle and sprinkle

is that trickle is to move or roll slowly while sprinkle is to drip in fine drops, sometimes sporadically.

trickle

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A very thin river.
  • The brook had shrunk to a mere trickle .
  • A very thin flow; the act of trickling .
  • The tap of the washbasin in my bedroom is leaking and the trickle drives me mad at night.

    Verb

    (trickl)
  • to pour a liquid in a very thin stream, or so that drops fall continuously
  • The doctor trickled some iodine on the wound.
  • to flow in a very thin stream or drop continuously
  • Here the water just trickles along, but later it becomes a torrent.
    The film was so bad that people trickled out of the cinema before its end.
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
  • Her white night-dress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress.
  • To move or roll slowly.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2010 , date=December 29 , author=Sam Sheringham , title=Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Their only shot of the first period was a long-range strike from top-scorer Ebanks-Blake which trickled tamely wide.}}

    Anagrams

    *

    sprinkle

    English

    Verb

    (sprinkl)
  • (lb) To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance).
  • :
  • *(Bible), (w) xiv. 16
  • *:And the priest shallsprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.
  • *
  • *:At twilight in the summeron the floor.
  • (lb) To cover (an object) by sprinkling a substance on to it.
  • :
  • *2005 , Justus Roux, Who's Your Daddy? , page 66:
  • *:Most of the passengers watched from the enclosed promenade deck, but Sandra found her way to the higher, open promenade where she shivered and watched the city lights fade and the stars sprinkle themselves across a dark blue velvet sky.
  • (lb) To drip in fine drops, sometimes sporadically.
  • :
  • (lb) To baptize by the application of a few drops, or a small quantity, of water; hence, to cleanse; to purify.
  • *(Bible), (w) x. 22
  • *:having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
  • Quotations

    * 1893 , Edward F. Bigelow (editor and publisher), The Observer: a Medium of Interchange of Observations for all Students and Lovers of Nature , volume IV, number 4, page 114: *: There is no more beautiful object in the still and shady aisles of the wood than a great patch of the deep green hairy cap moss studded and starred by these little roses that are often scattered over it as thickly as the stars sprinkle the sky. * April 26th, 1899', ''Memorial Day Oration'' of General P. McGlashan, printed in '''1902 in ''Addresses delivered before the Confederate Veterans Association of Savannah by that association: *: As I laid him back on the litter he threw out his arms and clasped me around my neck, drew me towards him and kissed me, saying: "Colonel, I love you." [...] Unnumbered instances like this might be recounted did the time permit it. They sprinkle the whole four years as the stars sprinkle the sky. * 2010 , Donald E. MacKay, Love Is Stronger Than Death , page 91: *: [...] she will remember his words and gaze at the stars. One dark night when the stars sprinkle the heavens, she would call out to the stars and ask the same questions her benefactor had asked; perhaps she will be favored with answers.

    Derived terms

    * sprinkler

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A light covering with a sprinkled substance.
  • He decorated the Christmas card with a sprinkle of glitter.
  • A light rain shower.
  • Synonyms

    * (light covering with a sprinkled substance) sprinkling

    Derived terms

    * sugar sprinkles