insinuate

American  

[in-sin-yoo-eyt] / ɪnˈsɪn juˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• insinuates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• insinuated,
  past participle,  past
• insinuating
  present participle

1. to suggest or hint slyly.

   He insinuated that they were lying.

2. to instill or infuse subtly or artfully, as into the mind.

   to insinuate doubts through propaganda.

   Synonyms:

   inculcate, inject, introduce

3. to bring or introduce into a position or relation by indirect or artful methods.

   to insinuate oneself into favor.

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verb (used without object)

• insinuates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• insinuated,
  past participle,  past
• insinuating
  present participle

1. to make insinuations.

insinuate British  

/ ɪnˈsɪnjʊˌeɪt /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object) to suggest by indirect allusion, hints, innuendo, etc

2. (tr) to introduce subtly or deviously

3. (tr) to cause (someone, esp oneself) to be accepted by gradual approaches or manoeuvres

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Synonym Usage

See hint.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• insinuator
  noun
• preinsinuate
  verb
• half-insinuated
  adjective
• insinuative
  adjective
• insinuatory
  adjective
• preinsinuative
  adjective
• uninsinuated
  adjective
• uninsinuative
  adjective
• insinuatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• insinuating
  present
• insinuated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• insinuate
  simple
• insinuates
  simple
• have insinuated
  perfect
• has insinuated
  perfect
• am insinuating
  progressive
• are insinuating
  progressive
• is insinuating
  progressive
• have been insinuating
  perfect progressive
• has been insinuating
  perfect progressive

Past

• insinuated
  simple
• had insinuated
  perfect
• was insinuating
  progressive
• were insinuating
  progressive
• had been insinuating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will insinuate
  simple
• will have insinuated
  perfect
• will be insinuating
  progressive
• will have been insinuating
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insinuate insinuates insinuated insinuating

It and other rags insinuate the problem, As Ever, is the royal formerly known as Meghan Markle.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

“I don’t want to insinuate that we’ve lost our values. The Big Ten has had to adjust to the overall shift in college athletics and the marketplace around it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 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

“How dare you insinuate that my late wife would talk to you, a pale imitation, rather than to her own husband? How dare you talk to me about hope when hope died with her?”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

His press flak insinuates it’s because the senator’s name sounds like that of a nameless criminal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2025

Sibarium insinuates that Lucero has exercised undue influence over residency acceptances.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2024

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

Applying it to someone like Scaramucci insinuates a level of virulence, as if he's a flare-up of some disease that can never be fully eradicated.

From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2023

For instance, he insinuates into our minds some bitter, resentful, and uncharitable thought.

From The Warfare of the Soul Practical Studies in the Life of Temptation by Shirley C. Hughson

Herta Müller’s account of growing up in Ceaușescu’s Romania documents how the state insinuated oppression into every corner of life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

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

"Constantly assuming new faces, it has insinuated itself into the heart of our societies, into every crack, too often accompanied by that same pact of cowardice: to keep silent, to refuse to see."

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

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

He ran into the pack and insinuated himself onto the younger team.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

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

Since the Epstein files release, Pozhidaeva has been contending with social-media posts and blogs insinuating she is a Russian spy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

He responded with, “There goes the house,” insinuating that he’s going to lose it.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025

In fact the White House defended it, insinuating the journalist deserved it for being “unprofessional.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025

Even now, she could feel the magic pulsing under her skin, each filament insinuating itself between cells, through tissues, filling up her bones.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill