intimation

noun

in·​ti·​ma·​tion ˌin-tə-ˈmā-shən 

plural intimations

: an indirect, usually subtle suggestion, indication, or hint

intimations that she may retire from teaching next year

It can be any time from the earliest intimation of fall, when wetland maples turn a searing red, to the third week of October, when gaudy leaves carpet the forest floor.

—Madeline Drexler

They bored me stiff but George had expertise and gave occasional intimations of power in reserve.

—Tobias Wolff

Synonyms of intimation

• indication
• clue
• hint
• cue
• suggestion

Examples of intimation in a Sentence

the newscaster could not resist giving a slight intimation that the voting was going contrary to predictions

Recent Examples on the Web

There is the visual memory of the shelves of books, but also an intimation of the weight, the heft of all the words in them. —Literary Hub, 12 May 2026

The intimation seems to be that there might even be a human being hidden inside Daisy’s dossier. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026

Spokespeople for World Liberty Financial and the White House have repeatedly pushed back against any intimations of conflicts of interest. —Ben Weiss, Fortune, 4 May 2026

Sure, there’s the intimation of a world gone to pieces, whether from a quantum apocalypse or an ecological catastrophe; there’s the presentation of a modern self, stripped of its qualities and evacuated of purpose. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for intimation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation