intimations
Faint early signals
Intimations are hints or indirect suggestions of something, often something not yet fully known or understood.
The word carries a sense of faint awareness or premonition: intimations of mortality, the first intimations of spring.
Wordsworth's famous phrase "intimations of immortality" captures the word's typical register—literary and somewhat elevated.
An intimation differs from a direct statement; it suggests rather than declares.
Vague preliminary suspicions
- suggestionsProposed ideas or advice
- cluesHints toward answers
- indicationsEvidence suggesting something
- glimpsesBrief, incomplete views
whispers · allusions · insinuations · nudges · cues · signals · pointers · traces
Subtle variations in meaning
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
- inferencesConclusions drawn from evidence
- suggestionsProposed ideas or advice
- veiledConcealed or obscured
implicit · tacit · oblique · indirect · delicate · faint · subdued · muted
Prophetic signs or warnings
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
- harbingersSignals of what's ahead
- precursorsThings preceding others
- presagesIndicates in advance
forewarnings · auguries · signs · warnings · heralds · forebodings · auspices · shadows
inklings
Vague preliminary suspicions
- suggestionsProposed ideas or advice
- cluesHints toward answers
- indicationsEvidence suggesting something
glimpses · whispers · allusions · insinuations · nudges · cues · signals · pointers · traces · implications
nuances
Subtle variations in meaning
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
- inferencesConclusions drawn from evidence
- suggestionsProposed ideas or advice
veiled · implicit · tacit · oblique · indirect · delicate · faint · subdued · muted · understated
omens
Prophetic signs or warnings
- portentsOminous indicators of future events
- harbingersSignals of what's ahead
- precursorsThings preceding others
presages · forewarnings · auguries · signs · warnings · heralds · forebodings · auspices · shadows · foreshadows
- whisperswhisper, whispering, hushed tone, soft voice, low voice
- Intangible feelingsfeelings, emotions, sensations, moods, sentiments
intimationsdeclarations
Explicit formal statements
proclamations · announcements · pronouncements · assertions · plain speech
intimationsconfirmations
Acts of proving true
certainties · proofs · conclusive evidence · verifications · assurances