scintilla

1. (figuratively) A small or trace amount.Examples: "a scintilla of hope"; "And, if I except the sagacious remark of General Duane which has been so curtly brushed aside, not a scintilla of light has been cast upon these causes by any researches ever published by the Lighthouse Board of Washington."; "Now, it may be we have no scintilla of proof to the contrary, but reason is unnecessary in reference to that belief which is of all the most settled, which nobody doubts or can doubt, and which he who should deny would stultify himself in so doing."Synonyms: ace, tinge, atom, aught, bissel, bit, crumb, glimpsefiguratively