Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation.
- n. Law A plaintiff's interpretation in a libel suit of allegedly libelous or slanderous material.
- n. Law A parenthetic explanation of a word or charge in a legal document.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- [L.] Intimating; insinuating; signifying: a word used at the beginning of an explanatory parenthetical clause in Latin (Middle Latin), and still occasionally in English, pleadings, introducing the person or thing meant: as, he (innuendo the plaintiff) did so and so.
- n.; pl. innuendos or innuendoes (-dōz). An oblique hint; an indirect intimation about a person or thing; an allusive or inferential suggestion: commonly used in a bad sense, but sometimes in an innocent one. Also, erroneously, inuendo.
- Synonyms See hint, transitive verb (end of comparison).
Wiktionary
- n. A derogatory hint or reference to a person or thing. An implication or insinuation.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An oblique hint; a remote allusion or reference, usually derogatory to a person or thing not named; an insinuation.
- n. (Law) An averment employed in pleading, to point the application of matter otherwise unintelligible; an interpretative parenthesis thrown into quoted matter to explain an obscure word or words; -- as, the plaintiff avers that the defendant said that he (
innuendo the plaintiff) was a thief.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an indirect (and usually malicious) implication
Etymologies
- From the Latin innuendō ("by nodding"), ablative singular form of innuendum ("a nodding"), gerund of innuō ("I give a nod"). (Wiktionary)
- From Latin innuendō, by hinting, ablative of innuendum, gerund of innuere, to nod to : in-, to, toward; see in-2 + -nuere, to nod. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The word innuendo has appeared in 68 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Aug. 31 in "Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools on Spot" by Winnie Hu: "It's not the traditional bullying: the big kid in the schoolyard saying, 'You're going to do what I say,' " Richard Bergacs, an assistant principal at North Hunterdon High, said.”
“If it was a big thing, perhaps she'd be interested ... (f'nar f'nar) innuendo is Italian for enema - heard it on Radio 2”
“Your innuendo is absolutly insane, that the mayor of one city is controlling an entire county's election consisting of several cities, and election officials.”
“Learn more about the word "innuendo" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary.com dictionary.”
“Owen Thomas, Valleywag’s puckish editor, will continue to spin innuendo from the tech scene for Gawker. com, which is becoming a more nationally oriented gossip site.”
“Occasional use of expletives or sexual innuendo is not necessarily a bannable offense, though the person may get a warning if the use is gratuitous or angry in tone.”
Questions About Blogging, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“We're sick of all the negative nasty lies and innuendo from the republican party and the conservative media.”
“Then, the handcuff innuendo is meaningful and she knows his name to keep him in line ... but gradually falls in love with him ... and ends up in a virtual world.”
“All that innuendo is making my brain short-circuit.”
“Such people, like their predecessors on the House Un-American Activities Committee more than half a century ago, trade in innuendo, smear and false accusation.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘innuendo’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plai...
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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From reading
Collected from reading
venerate, reprobate, reticent, adoration, ethereal, ephemeral, equivocal, contumacious, heinous, solicitous, agnostic, aberration and 335 more...
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Especially
Being a list of words which have "especially" in their definitions.
wringing-machine, especially, device, field, scrip, hit, catch, take, buck, flip, effluvium, proselyte and 107 more...
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Wordplay & Pun
wordplay, pound, conceit, clinch, joke, quibble, equivoque, double-entendre, quillet, calembour, carriwitchet, paranomasia and 90 more...
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week 2
deft, clad, innuendo, erroneous, vehement, impetuous, vacuous, corpulent, provincial, din, fluctuate, sporadic and 8 more...
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kahleigh's list
therapeutic, charade, chalice, rendezvous, amarulence, bewitched, transcendence, passe, cul-de-sac, boulevard, bouquet, forlorn and 18 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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bianca's euphonic list
paprika, poignant, poignancy, viscous, subtlety, robust, vehicular, combustion, viscosity, velocity, rotunda, malignant and 18 more...
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intueri's Words
inveigle, dolorous, archly, feckless, resplendent, concatenation, peripatetic, delightful, cookie, fey, ephemeral, effervescent and 347 more...
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Twitter faves
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
gonk, nerking, guap, gimp, fabulous, dabble, fabilicious, tragic, zooted, hey, cheekini, nugget and 457 more... -
Random Words
lochia, confused, innoxious, naive, cockatrice, derisive, parsley, passive, casual, football, innuendo, Rumanian and 172 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
bumwank, calamity, recalcitrant, gayenese, jeeze, nonsense, flabbergasted, juxtapose, procrastinating, ossanity, biffing, loser and 1972 more... -
SoSheShall's list
slurp, coeur, slurple, glop, perp, fluarxx, ropechno, herrherr, burrduhherrherr, sloppy, cheezie balls, eccentric and 634 more...
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Wharton, Edith. Age of Innocence. 1920
A list of difficult words for L2-12 learners.
Faust, erection, metropolitan, splendor, shabby, conservatives, cherished, inconvenient, clung, acoustics, coupe, scramble and 261 more...
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The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for innuendo.
bilby
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
- Wallace Stevens, 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird'. Aug 31, 2009
brtom "Attend, ye skilled to coin the precious tale,
Creating proof, where innuendos fail!"
Sheridan, School for Scandal Jan 2, 2008