innuendo
an indirect intimation about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or a derogatory nature.
Law.
a parenthetic explanation or specification in a pleading.
(in an action for slander or libel) the explanation and elucidation of the words alleged to be defamatory.
the word or expression thus explained.
Origin of innuendo
1word story For innuendo
In Latin innuendo is a gerund, a verbal noun more or less equivalent to verbal nouns ending in -ing in English, as for instance, the noun “reading” in “I like reading,” which is equivalent to the simple infinitive, as in “I like to read.” Latin innuendo is in the ablative singular case (and so to be translated “by __ing”) and means “by hinting, by intimating.” In legal documents in Medieval Latin, innuendo was used as an adverb meaning “to wit, that is to say, i.e.” (its original meaning in English in the 16th century); innuendo introduced a parenthetical explanation of the exact reference of a noun or pronoun, especially in cases of slander or libel in which innuendo introduced clarifying statements about what and who was meant by the libel or slander. By the late 17th century, innuendo in English acquired a noun sense “an indirect and usually derogatory intimation about someone or something.”
Other words for innuendo
Words Nearby innuendo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use innuendo in a sentence
A vaccine skeptic community that often focuses on unverified data, innuendo and false and misleading comparisons is suddenly pointing to Israel again.
It also lets you share payments between you and others to your feed, and tag it with a note that can be a direct statement, a cryptic innuendo or inside joke, or just a series of emoji.
Venmo just made some big privacy changes—here’s what to know | Charlotte Hu | July 21, 2021 | Popular-ScienceHours of interviews, testimony and innuendo flooded cable news.
By Making the Jan. 6 Probe Political, Republicans Stand to Re-Run Benghazi Playbook | Philip Elliott | July 14, 2021 | TimeJordanian leadership has refused to specify who it was alluding to, triggering a swirl of speculation built around some facts, plenty of innuendo and a context that is the hidden story behind the crisis in Jordan.
Butterfly Effect: The Hidden Story Behind Jordan’s Attempted Palace ‘Coup’ | Charu Kasturi | April 6, 2021 | OzyFitzGerald’s relationship with veteran reporter Ward Just meant she avoided the sexual advances and innuendo that trailed Leroy.
Three female journalists who braved the chaos of Vietnam | Jacqueline Winspear | March 12, 2021 | Washington Post
But the entendre and innuendo permeates the rest of the series—often innocently, but sometimes far more blatantly.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music | Kevin Fallon | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe definition of “innuendo,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “an oblique allusion.”
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004 | Marlow Stern | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe presidential paramour was French film star Julie Gayet, 42, confirming months of behind-the-scenes innuendo.
Hollande's Jilted Lover Valerie Trierweiler Tells All | Tracy McNicoll | September 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor years your bright light was darkened by a blizzard of lies, cheating and innuendo.
I Pushed the Lance Armstrong Lie: An Open Letter to Greg LeMond | Mark McKinnon | July 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter more innuendo-laden, sex-soaked back-and-forths, Eric poured a martini.
Gossip in all its moods and tenses, from the vague indicative of mere innuendo, to the full subjunctive of open defamation!
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) | Charles James LeverThis exhibited enormous, black head-lines, screaming innuendo of the most blasting character.
The Beauty | Mrs. Wilson Woodrow"All very well going up," murmured the mountaineer: there was a sinister innuendo in the curt comments of the practical man.
No Hero | E.W. HornungPiper was heartily glad that Hooker had won, and he felt that Roy was generous in his willingness to overlook Shultzs innuendo.
The New Boys at Oakdale | Morgan ScottShe was inimitably dexterous and indefatigable in improving every occasion of innuendo.
Self-control | Mary Brunton
British Dictionary definitions for innuendo
/ (ˌɪnjʊˈɛndəʊ) /
an indirect or subtle reference, esp one made maliciously or indicating criticism or disapproval; insinuation
law (in pleading) a word introducing an explanatory phrase, usually in parenthesis
law (in an action for defamation)
an explanation of the construction put upon words alleged to be defamatory where the defamatory meaning is not apparent
the words thus explained
Origin of innuendo
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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