Imply vs. Insinuate
Imply and Insinuate Definitions
Imply
To express or state indirectly
She implied that she was in a hurry.
Insinuate
To express or otherwise convey (a thought, for example) in an indirect or insidious way.
Imply
To make evident indirectly
His fine clothes implied that he was wealthy. See Usage Note at infer.
Insinuate
To maneuver or insert (oneself) into a place
"One of the boys insinuated himself next to me and squeezed my hand" (Caroline Preston).
Imply
To involve by logical necessity; entail
Life implies growth and death.
Insinuate
To cause (oneself) to be involved or accepted by subtle and artful means
Insinuated himself into court intrigues.
Insinuated herself into my good graces.
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Imply
To have as a necessary consequence
The proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal.
Insinuate
To make insinuations.
Imply
To suggest by logical inference
When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown.
Insinuate
To hint; to suggest tacitly (usually something bad) while avoiding a direct statement.
She insinuated that her friends had betrayed her.
Imply
To hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement
What do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't wash my hands?
Insinuate
(rare) To creep, wind, or flow into; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices.
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Imply
(archaic) to enfold, entangle.
Insinuate
To ingratiate; to obtain access to or introduce something by subtle, cunning or artful means.
Imply
To infold or involve; to wrap up.
Insinuate
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.
Imply
To involve in substance or essence, or by fair inference, or by construction of law, when not include virtually; as, war implies fighting.
Where a malicious act is proved, a malicious intention is implied.
When a man employs a laborer to work for him, . . . the act of hiring implies an obligation and a promise that he shall pay him a reasonable reward for his services.
Insinuate
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.
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Imply
To refer, ascribe, or attribute.
Whence might this distaste arise?
If [from] neither your perverse and peevish will.To which I most imply it.
Insinuate
To hint; to suggest by remote allusion; - often used derogatorily; as, did you mean to insinuate anything?
Imply
Express or state indirectly
Insinuate
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.
Imply
Suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic
Insinuate
To creep, wind, or flow in; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices.
Imply
Have as a logical consequence;
The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers
Insinuate
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.
Imply
Suggest that someone is guilty
Insinuate
Introduce or insert (oneself) in a subtle manner;
He insinuated himself into the conversation of the people at the nearby table
Imply
Have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail;
This decision involves many changes
Insinuate
Give to understand;
I insinuated that I did not like his wife
