Insinuate vs Sneak - What's the difference?
insinuate | sneak |
(rare) To creep, wind, or flow into; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices.
* Woodward
(figurative, by extension) To ingratiate; to obtain access to or introduce something by subtle, cunning or artful means.
* 1995 , , p. 242
* John Locke
* Dryden
* Clarendon
To hint; to suggest tacitly while avoiding a direct statement.
One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.
A cheat; a con artist; a trickster
An informer; a tell-tale.
(obsolete, cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.
To take something stealthily without permission.
(dated) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
* Wake
(informal, especially with on) To inform an authority about another's misdemeanours; to tell tales; to grass.
In advance; before release to the general public.
In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.
As verbs the difference between insinuate and sneak
is that insinuate is to creep, wind, or flow into; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices while sneak is to creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.As a noun sneak is
one who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.As an adjective sneak is
in advance; before release to the general public.insinuate
English
Verb
- The water easily insinuates itself into, and placidly distends, the vessels of vegetables.
- Nanny didn't so much enter places as insinuate herself; she had unconsciously taken a natural talent for liking people and developed it into an occult science.
- 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.
- Horace laughs to shame all follies and insinuates virtue, rather by familiar examples than by the severity of precepts.
- He insinuated himself into the very good grace of the Duke of Buckingham.
- She insinuated that her friends had betrayed her.
Synonyms
* (Make a way for or introduce something by subtle, crafty or artful means. ): implyExternal links
* *Anagrams
* ----sneak
English
Noun
(en noun)- My little brother is such a sneak - yesterday I caught him trying to look through my diary.
- I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.
Verb
- He decided to sneak into the kitchen for a second cookie while his mom was on the phone.
- I went to sneak a chocolate but my dad caught me.
- [Slander] sneaks its head.
- If you sneak on me I'll bash you!
Usage notes
* The past and past participle snuck'' is primarily found in North American English, where it originated in the late 19th century as a dialectal form. It is still regarded as informal by some, but its use appears to be increasing in frequency and acceptability. It is occasionally found in British and Australian/Hiberno-English, too, though regarded as an American form. (SeeOxford Dictionaries, ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'', ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'', ''Webster's New World College Dictionary .) * To sneak'' (take) something is not the same as to ''steal'' something. In this sense, ''sneak'' typically implies trying to avoid a supervisor's or guardian's mild displeasure or mild discipline, while ''steal indicates a more serious action and often the person stealing does not know the owner of the item being stolen.
Derived terms
* sneaker * sneaky * sneakily * sneakiness * sneak peek * sneak preview * sneak thief * sneak away * sneak in * sneak off * sneak out * sneak up/sneak up on * sneak aroundAdjective
(-)- The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.
- I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.