Ĭn'nu-ĕn'do1, n.
(52), n.; pl. ĬN'NU-ĔN'DŌES. [Lat., from innuere, to give a nod, from prefix in and an hypothetical nuere, to nod.]
Sense 1. An oblique hint; a remote intimation or reference to a person or thing not named.
Mercury . . . owns it a marriage by innuendo. Dryden.
Sense 2. (Law.) An averment employed in proceedings for libel or slander, to point the application to persons or subjects, of the alleged libelous or defamatory matter.
☞ The term is so applied from having been the introductory word of this averment when pleadings were in Latin. The word “meaning” is used as its equivalent in modern forms. Bouvier. Burrill.
Synonyms— Insinuation; suggestion; representation. — INNUENDO, INSINUATION. An innuendo supposes a representation so framed as to point distinctly at something beyond, which is injurious to the character, &c., of the person aimed at. An insinuation turns on no such double use of language, but consists in artfully winding into the mind imputations of an injurious nature without making any direct charge, and is therefore justly regarded as one of the basest resorts of malice and falsehood.