insinuate
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin īnsinuō (“to push in, creep in, steal in”), from in (“in”) + sinus (“a winding, bend, bay, fold, bosom”)
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
insinuate (third-person singular simple present insinuates, present participle insinuating, simple past and past participle insinuated)
- To hint; to suggest tacitly (usually something bad) while avoiding a direct statement.
- She insinuated that her friends had betrayed her.
- (rare) 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
- 1728-1729, John Woodward, An Attempt towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England
- (figuratively, by extension) To ingratiate; to obtain access to or introduce something by subtle, cunning or artful means.
- 1995, Terry Pratchett, Maskerade, p. 242
- Nanny didn't so much enter places as insinuate herself; she had unconsciously taken a natural talent for liking people and developed it into an occult science.
- 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 3, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242:
- 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.
- 1693, John Dryden, “[The Dedication]”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 80026745:
- Horace laughs to shame all follies and insinuates virtue, rather by familiar examples than by the severity of precepts.
- 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, OCLC 937919305:
- He […] insinuated himself into the very good grace of the Duke of Buckingham.
- 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, OCLC 82790126:
- he insinuated himself into the confidence of one already so forlorn
- 1995, Terry Pratchett, Maskerade, p. 242
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:allude
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
make way for by subtle means
creep or wind into
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enter gently or imperceptibly
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ingratiate oneself
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hint at (something)
Further reading[edit]
- “insinuate” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- “insinuate” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams[edit]
Italian[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Verb[edit]
insinuate
- inflection of insinuare:
Etymology 2[edit]
Participle[edit]
insinuate f pl
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
īnsinuāte
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms with quotations
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian verb forms
- Italian past participle forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms