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

• 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

Years of solitude, sharpened by intimations of mortality, have cracked the banker’s sense of certainty. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025

There are intimations of down-home prosperity, like horn blasts in the fog. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025

Worse, intimations of foreign involvement might trigger a nuclear war, Johnson warned. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 19 May 2025

And the longer these series go on, the more overwhelming such intimations of superstar mortality tend to become. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 May 2025

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