insinuating

[in-sin-yoo-ey-ting]

adjective

1. tending to instill doubts, distrust, etc.; suggestive.

   an insinuating letter.

2. gaining favor or winning confidence by artful means.

   an insinuating manner.

Other Word Forms

• insinuatingly adverb
• half-insinuating adjective
• half-insinuatingly adverb
• preinsinuatingly adverb
• uninsinuating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of insinuating¹

First recorded in 1585–95; insinuat(e) + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Some major news outlets initially wrote off the emerging epidemic as a “gay plague,” insinuating that other Americans didn’t need to worry about it.

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In remarks to the press after he toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new migrant detention center in Florida, the president weaponized Mamdani’s birth in Uganda by falsely insinuating he is not a naturalized American citizen.

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Team leaders referred to Gazans as "zombie hordes", the former contractor said, "insinuating that these people have no value."

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This fits in with Kennedy's long-standing history of eugenics-tinged notions that disease is a good thing, falsely claiming that it strengthens the gene pool, and insinuating that it makes survivors stronger.

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Harris’ team had already held a few news conferences at the border, insinuating that increased border security would be top of mind in her administration.

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