Insinuate

v. t. [imp. & p. p. INSINUATED; p. pr. & vb. n. INSINUATING.] [Lat. insinuare, insinuatum, from prefix in and sinus, the bosom; It. insinuare, Fr. & Sp. insinuar, Fr. insinuer.] 1. To introduce gently, or as by a winding or narrow passage; to wind in. The water easily insinuates itself into, and placidly distends, the vessels of vegetables. Woodward. 2. To infuse gently; to introduce artfully; 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. Locke. 3. To hint; to suggest by remote allusion. And all the fictions bards pursue Do but insinuate what's true. Swift. 4. To push or work one's self into favor; to introduce by slow, gentle, or artful means;—used reflexively. He insinuated himself into the very good grace of the Duke of Buckingham. Clarendon.