INSINUATING • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Insinuating

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/ɪnsˈɪnjueɪtɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Insinuate v. t. (past & past part. insinuated; pres. part. insinuating)

1.

To introduce gently or slowly, as by a winding or narrow passage, or a gentle, persistent movement. "The water easily insinuates itself into, and placidly distends, the vessels of vegetables."

2.

To introduce artfully; to infuse gently; to instill. "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." "Horace laughs to shame all follies and insinuates virtue, rather by familiar examples than by the severity of precepts."

3.

To hint; to suggest by remote allusion; often used derogatorily; as, did you mean to insinuate anything?

4.

To push or work (one's self), as into favor; to introduce by slow, gentle, or artful means; to ingratiate; used reflexively. "He insinuated himself into the very good grace of the Duke of Buckingham."

Synonyms: To instill; hint; suggest; intimate.

Insinuate v. i.

1.

To creep, wind, or flow in; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices.

2.

To ingratiate one's self; to obtain access or favor by flattery or cunning. "He would insinuate with thee but to make thee sigh." "To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my limbs."

adjective

Insinuating adj. Winding, creeping, or flowing in, quietly or stealthily; suggesting; winning favor and confidence insensibly. "His address was courteous, and even insinuating."

See images of 'Insinuating'

Etymology of 'Insinuating'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Insinuating" Quotes from Famous Books

... together on the bus. Alfred was no less silky and insinuating than in the beginning, but whereas at first he had been genuinely candid, he now ...

— The Deaves Affair • Hulbert Footner

... of the savages, and represented the British heretics in the most odious light, making the Indians believe that their safety and happiness depended on the total extirpation of such men from America. Though some tribes rejected their friendship, yet it is certain that many were won over by their insinuating arts and intrigues, and entered into alliances with them. When a general congress was held at Albany fewer Indians than usual at such meetings attended, which afforded grounds of suspicion, and obliged the governors of the British colonies to ...

— An Historical Account Of The Rise And Progress Of The Colonies Of South Carolina And Georgia, Volume 2 • Alexander Hewatt

... up her mind. She would simulate innocence at all costs. With the craft of a consummate actress, she began in a low voice, which gradually rose and became impressive, insinuating: ...

— The Exploits of Juve - Being the Second of the Series of the "Fantmas" Detective Tales • mile Souvestre and Marcel Allain

... intimations—no whisperings. How horrible it all was! To long to be good and noble—to realize that she was neither—to sink lower day by day! Must she decay there like one of these rotting logs? Worst of all, then, was the insinuating and ever-growing hopelessness. What was the use? What did it matter? Who would ever think of Ellen Jorth? "O God!" she whispered in her distraction, "is there nothing left—nothing ...

— To the Last Man • Zane Grey

... public stage since I entered office in 1862, and sum up the resignations due to other than parliamentary reasons, and you will find a result exceedingly favorable to the accommodating spirit of the German minister when it is compared with that of any other country. I consider, therefore, the insinuating references to my quarrelsome disposition and fickleness distinctly ...

— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. X. • Kuno Francke

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