mote

That is said with nary a mote of sarcasm.

These machines, which are a mere one-billionth of a meter in size, are no larger than a mote of dust, truly living up to the name "nano."

It takes a hard heart to not feel a mote of empathy for Gosselin as she runs dead last in a short marathon to their barracks, ugly crying the entire time.

Dust motes floated through the sunset-red light and disappeared into dark shadows like lost, lonely phantoms.

In the dusky shadows, Frankie’s eyes were as luminously gold as the constellations of dust motes floating above our heads.