insinuate
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insinuate
- /ɪnˈsɪnjueɪt/ UK, US
Where it comes from
First attested in 1529; Borrowed from Latin īnsinuātus, perfect passive participle of īnsinuō (“to push in, creep in, steal in”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + sinus (“a winding, bend, bay, fold, bosom”) -ō (verb-forming suffix). Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
verb insinuates · insinuating · insinuated
-
To hint; to suggest tacitly (usually something bad) while avoiding a direct statement.
She insinuated that her friends had betrayed her.
Similar: advert, allude, hint, imply, indicate, inkle, insinuate, intimate, moot, refer, signify, suggest
- To creep, wind, or flow into; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices. 1728-1729, John Woodward, An Attempt towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England Water will insinuate itself into Flints through certain imperceptible Cracks
- To ingratiate; to obtain access to or introduce something by subtle, cunning or artful means. All the art of rhetoric, besides order and clearness, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong ideas, move the passions, and thereby mislead the judgment.
adjective more insinuate · most insinuate
- Insinuated. The great mistery of Christes passyon […] lyttle and lyttle at sundry seasons to bee sygnifyed and insinuate conueniently to man.
Translations
Every language
verb hint at (something)
| Español | insinuar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 当て付ける atetsukeru |
| 中文 | 影射 yǐngshè |
| Português | insinuar |
| Français | insinuer |
| Deutsch | andeuten, unterstellen, insinuieren |
| Ελληνικά | υπονοώ yponoó, υπαινίσσομαι ypainíssomai |
| Русский | намека́ть namekátʹ |
| العربية | لَمَّحَ lammaḥa, أَلْمَحَ ʔalmaḥa, أَشَارَ ʔašāra |
verb ingratiate oneself
| Français | insinuer |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | sich einschmeicheln, sich einschleichen |
| Русский | заи́скивать пе́ред zaískivatʹ péred, сниска́ть ми́лость |
| العربية | اِنْدَسّ indass |
Talk about this word "insinuate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/insinuate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. insinuate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/insinuate "insinuate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/insinuate.Cite this
@misc{insinuate_2026,
title = {insinuate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/insinuate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
