inkling
/ˈɪŋklɪŋ
/noun
A slight knowledge or suspicion; a hint: the records give us an inkling of how people saw the world...
- If she had the slightest inkling of the notion of democratic representation she would never be able to say this.
- He had it all mapped out and made certain Sally didn't have the slightest inkling that anything was up.
- Few had the slightest inkling about the kind of music that was being played by the band.
Synonyms
idea, vague idea, notion, glimmering;
sense, impression, suggestion, indication, whisper, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, fancy, hunch;
knowledge, slight knowledge;
hint, clue, intimation, sign, pointer, insinuation, innuendo
British informal the foggiest idea, the foggiest, the faintest idea, the faintest
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'a mention in an undertone, a hint'): from the rare verb inkle 'utter in an undertone', of unknown origin.