Intimation

English

Noun

Intimation (plural Intimations)

1. The act of intimating; also, the thing intimated.
2. Announcement; declaration.
   • , w:Holland

     They made an edict with an intimation that whosoever killed a stork, should be banished.

3. A hint; an obscure or indirect suggestion or notice; a remote or ambiguous reference; as, he had given only intimations of his design.
   • Bishop w:Burnet.

     Without mentioning the king of England, or giving the least intimation that he was sent by him.

   • 1862, Thoreau, Walking.

     At length, perchance, the immaterial heaven will appear as much higher to the American mind, and the intimations that star it as much brighter.

Related terms

• intimacy
• intimate

Adjectives for Intimation

slightest; evident; injurious; mystical; official; silent; scattered; delicate; subjective; free; previous; unpleasant.

Verbs for Intimation

acknowledge—; advance—; contemplate—; dare—; furnish—; heed—; perceive—; ridicule—; seek—; weigh—; —creeps in; — denotes; —hints; —indicates; —informs; — interests; —leaks out; —notifies; —suggests.

Thesaurus

allegory, allusion, arcane meaning, assumption, bare suggestion, breath, broad hint, cast, catchword, clue, coloration, connotation, cue, cue word, dash, evidence, feeling, foreboding, forefeeling, funny feeling, gentle hint, gesture, gleam, glimmer, glimmering, half an idea, hazy idea, hint, hot lead, hunch, idea, implication, implied meaning, import, impression, index, indication, inference, infusion, inkling, innuendo, insinuation, intuition, intuitive impression, ironic suggestion, key, key word, kick, lead, lick, look, meaning, mere notion, metaphorical sense, nod, notion, nuance, nudge, occult meaning, overtone, preapprehension, premonition, presentiment, presumption, presupposition, prompt, sauce, scent, scintilla, seasoning, shade, shadow, sign, signal, sip, smack, smattering, smell, sneaking suspicion, soupcon, spark, spice, spoor, sprinkling, strain, streak, subsense, subsidiary sense, suggestion, sup, supposition, suspicion, symbolism, symptom, taint, taste, telltale, tempering, thought, tinct, tincture, tinge, tint, tip-off, touch, trace, track, undercurrent, undermeaning, undertone, vague feeling, vague idea, vestige, whiff, whisper, wind, wink

Etymology

From Latin intimatio (Compare French intimation)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɪntəˈmeɪʃən/, SAMPA: /%Int@meIS@n/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən