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intimation

intimation

6 7.7
A small hint that something is true or will happen
  • noun
  • /ˌɪntɪˈmeɪʃən/
translation icon : insinuación
  • I received an intimation from my friend that she might be moving to another city.
  • divine intimations
  • carries an intimation
  • early intimations

So, you know, the, the intimation here is that Tony himself is, is insane.

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Examples

  • A frightened, inarticulate maid weeping in the hall was their first intimation that something was wrong.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • His vague comments were an intimation that he was not happy with the current situation.

  • There was some intimation that maybe he was changing his name... 'cause of a racial thing.

  • I think we should resist the idea that politics, at its best, is an intimation of the administration of reason.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Since we have social media, we have certain intimations that we should not trust resources that we used to previously trust.

  • Still, the reader may wonder if an intimation of his own fate ever crossed his mind.

    Academic text (2002)
  • But it was one of the first intimations that there was something more.

    Blog text (8)
  • In some of his songs, there are intimations that life in occupied Belgium was very hard.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Sadness fills the room, but along with it there are intimations of redemption, bringing joy as well.

    Academic text (2005)
  • There are then, in fulfilling worldly obligations, intimations that they are in conformity with the Way of Heaven.

    Academic text (2016)

Synonyms

indication
vsintimation
382 3.9

A sign that shows something is true or likely

is mainly an indirect suggestion rather than a clear sign
hint
vsintimation
229 1.5

A small indirect suggestion that helps you understand something

is a slightly more formal or general indirect suggestion
a hint of
vsintimation
180 2.4

A small amount of something you can just notice

focuses on an indirect suggestion rather than amount or trace
innuendo
vsintimation
  • NSFW
43 8.0

A remark that hints something bad about someone

is more neutral and less explicitly suggestive or insulting
inkling
vsintimation
33 6.1

A small idea or feeling that something may be true

expresses a clearer indirect suggestion rather than a vague notion
insinuation
vsintimation
18 7.2

A quiet suggestion that someone did something wrong

is neutral in tone and lacks the negative accusing quality
adumbration
vsintimation
  • Formal
1 9.9

A faint hint of what will happen later

focuses on a subtle indirect suggestion, not a broad outline
adumbration of thought
vsintimation
  • Literature
9.9

A faint early hint of an idea that appears later

is a short indirect suggestion rather than broad foreshadowing

Antonyms

6 4.8

A direct and honest way of speaking that can seem rude

How Direct

suggestion
759 1.4
hint
229 1.5
intimation
6 7.7
innuendo
  • NSFW
43 8.0

Surface Forms

intimation singular
intimations plural

Morphology

intimation = intimate (semi-transparent) = intimate + ion

Built regularly from the verb 'intimate' meaning 'to hint', but many learners know 'intimate' mainly as 'close' (adj), so the semantic link to 'hint' may not be obvious.

Etymology

Intimation comes from the Latin word intimare, based on intimus meaning 'inmost', and you can see the same root in intimate. So an intimation is a quiet 'making known' — a gentle hint put into someone's inner mind rather than a direct statement.