insinuation
in·si·nua·tion
noun
1.
an indirect (and usually malicious) implication
2.
the act of gaining acceptance or affection for yourself by persuasive and subtle blandishments
- “she refused to use insinuation in order to gain favor”
Origin
Borrowed from Middle French insinuation, from Old French, from Latin insinuatio, from īnsinuō (“to push in, creep in, steal in”), from in (“in”) + sinus (“a winding, bend, bay, fold, bosom”).
Related words
Word family
Broader terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.