insinuate
Americanverb (used with object)
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insinuates,
present (3rd person singular)
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insinuated,
past participle, past
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insinuating
present participle
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to suggest or hint slyly.
He insinuated that they were lying.
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to instill or infuse subtly or artfully, as into the mind.
to insinuate doubts through propaganda.
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to bring or introduce into a position or relation by indirect or artful methods.
to insinuate oneself into favor.
verb (used without object)
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insinuates,
present (3rd person singular)
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insinuated,
past participle, past
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insinuating
present participle
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to suggest by indirect allusion, hints, innuendo, etc
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(tr) to introduce subtly or deviously
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(tr) to cause (someone, esp oneself) to be accepted by gradual approaches or manoeuvres
Synonym Usage
See hint.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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insinuatornoun
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preinsinuateverb
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half-insinuatedadjective
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insinuativeadjective
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insinuatoryadjective
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preinsinuativeadjective
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uninsinuatedadjective
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uninsinuativeadjective
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insinuativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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insinuatesimple
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insinuatessimple
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have insinuatedperfect
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has insinuatedperfect
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am insinuatingprogressive
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are insinuatingprogressive
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is insinuatingprogressive
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have been insinuatingperfect progressive
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has been insinuatingperfect progressive
Past
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insinuatedsimple
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had insinuatedperfect
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was insinuatingprogressive
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were insinuatingprogressive
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had been insinuatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of insinuate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin insinuātus, past participle of insinuāre “to work in, instill.” See in- 2, sinuous, -ate 1
Explanation
Insinuate means you imply or suggest something that may or may not be true. If you say things seemed to go wrong about the time your brother took over, you insinuate that he had something to do with the decline. There's another way to insinuate. Suppose you're in line to get into a popular dance club when a celebrity appears, surrounded by a big entourage. If you strike up a conversation with one of the entourage, you may be able to insinuate that you're part of the group and go in with them. Don't feel bad — people have been doing it at least since the 1520s, when insinuate evolved from the Latin word insinuare, meaning "wind one's way into."
Vocabulary lists containing insinuate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her tales defy easy categorization—suspense shockers? ghost stories? horror sketches?—even as they insinuate themselves into our souls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
"I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting," Platner said in a statement to the BBC.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
They will insinuate, if not outright say, they are more than a baseball team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2025
The real purpose is to insinuate that this person doesn't deserve the basic presumption of privacy.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2024
How dare he insinuate anything of that sort!
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
They listen to Pepsi-branded transistor radios, fence with disc jockey Murray the K, who insinuates himself into their inner sanctum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024
Her placement in an even higher position of authority than she was before shows how easily she insinuates her way into influential positions by committing evil acts masked as serving the greater good.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2023
Even the job title insinuates that we are not people, but literal background—like a painting or flowerpot that is placed on a table to make the walls look less bare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
Harding insinuates himself into Adil’s life to get closer to Ruhaba, who seems to recognize Harding’s attraction to her while keeping him at a collegial distance.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2023
"They say that the marquis used to be one of your intimates, don't they?" the Englishwoman insinuates.
From Majesty A Novel by Louis Couperus
In an interview with an Argentine daily, Venezi, 36, insinuated that jobs in the opera orchestra were "practically passed down from father to son", angering musicians.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
In response, Lamola said: "We reiterate that broad-based black economic empowerment is not reverse racism as regrettably insinuated by the ambassador."
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
The best thing about “Lines of Resolution” is how powerfully it drives home that television has insinuated itself into every aspect of contemporary life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025
Harabedian, in an interview, defended the proposed fee change and insinuated that Bach was influenced by the president of her board, who is a public adjuster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025
No one showed any interest in tracking me, no one pried, no one insinuated.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
The Webb score is subtle and insinuating, but it could also be explosive, as in the devastating discovery cue dramatizing the heroine’s realization that she is being poisoned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Despite her efforts, Vicki's daughter struggled to gain weight and she felt like medical staff were insinuating she was "not doing enough" and "starving" her baby.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
She said that she finds “anyone even insinuating that might not be the case” to be “very upsetting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
He responded with, “There goes the house,” insinuating that he’s going to lose it.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025
The stench was cruel, insinuating itself into the folds of his clothes.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
