🤫 To hint indirectly 🕵️ To enter subtly

to insinuate

42 7.8

To suggest something bad about someone without saying it directly

verb
/ɪnˈsɪn.ju.eɪt/

: insinuar

One widely held stereotype insinuates that physically attractive people are less likely to behave criminally.

So what he started doing and and then the world insinuated that guy's racist.

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Examples

Within earshot of all our colleagues, she smugly insinuated that I hadn't performed a job.

Blog text (5)
I was upset when I realized that his comments were meant to insinuate that I wasn't qualified for the job.
Are you trying to insinuate something?

And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)
How dare you insinuate something such like that!

Norbit (2007)
What a reporter could only insinuate during the first trial now becomes explicit.

Academic text (1991)
So don't you ever insinuate anything like that again.

The Campaign (2012)
Are you insinuating that it could be a trap?

The Phone Book (2008)
Pardon me, professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
In fact, I'm kind of insulted that you would ever even insinuate that I would do anything inappropriate with Kyle.

Grapes on a Vine (2008)
What are you insinuating?

Enter Nowhere (2015)

Synonyms

to suggest

vsto insinuate

∞ 2.1

To show that something may be true without saying it directly

performs similar indirect indication but often with an unfriendly tone

to imply

vsto insinuate

367 3.5

Suggest something without saying it directly

does this indirectly but usually with a negative implication

to drop

vsto insinuate

Informal

313 4.9

To say something casually to give a hint

implies things indirectly with a usually unpleasant or accusing motive

to hint

vsto insinuate

136 2.0

To suggest something in a quiet way without saying it directly

suggests the same indirectly but with an unpleasant tone

to intimate

vsto insinuate

Formal

14 7.2

To suggest something indirectly without saying it

uses indirectness similarly but often with an unpleasant suggestion

to drop a hint

vsto insinuate

4 3.4

To suggest something in a quiet, indirect way

suggests indirectly but often to harm reputation rather than guide

to adumbrate

vsto insinuate

Formal

9.9

To suggest an idea in an indirect way without full details

offers a clearer indirect suggestion often carrying an unpleasant tone

Antonyms

to declare

Formal

950 3.7

To officially tell other people or officials about something

express

13 3.9

Clearly and directly stated without leaving anything unspoken

How Indirect

to hint

136 2.0

to insinuate

42 7.8

to imply

367 3.5

to suggest

∞ 1.6

to say

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

insinuate infinitive

insinuated past

insinuated past participle

insinuating present participle

insinuates third person singular

Morphology

insinuate = sinuate (opaque) = in + sinuate

Historically 'in-' + 'sinuate' (to bend/slide in) underlies the word, but the common meaning 'to hint unpleasantly' is a metaphorical shift not derivable by typical learners.

Etymology

Insinuate comes from Latin parts in- 'into' and sinus 'fold' or 'curve', so imagine sliding a quiet idea into the fold of a conversation. A helpful way to remember it is to think of slipping a hint in slowly instead of saying it directly. That's why to insinuate means to suggest something in an indirect, often unpleasant, way.