hint
Pronunciation Noun

hint (plural hints)

  1. A clue.
    I needed a hint to complete the crossword.
  2. A tacit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.
    He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.
  3. A small, barely detectable amount of.
    There was a hint of irony in his voice.
    I could taste a hint of lemon in the wine.
  4. (computing) Information in a computer-based font that suggests how the outlines of the font's glyphs should be distorted in order to produce, at specific sizes, a visually appealing pixel-based rendering. Also known as hinting.
    This font does not scale well; at small point sizes it has no hinting at all, and the hints that it has for the 10- and 12-point letter 'g' still need work.
  5. (obsolete) An opportunity; occasion; fit time.
    • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 1 scene 2
      I, not remembering how I cried out then, / Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint / That wrings mine eyes to't.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

hint (hints, present participle hinting; past and past participle hinted)

  1. (intransitive) To suggest tacitly without a direct statement; to provide a clue.
    She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.
  2. (transitive) To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.
    to hint a suspicion
    • 1735, [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London; Dublin: Re-printed by George Faulkner, bookseller, […], OCLC 6363280 ↗:
      Just hint a fault and hesitate dislike.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. In Six Volumes, volume (please specify ), London: Printed by A[ndrew] Millar, […], OCLC 928184292 ↗:
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      We shall not describe this tragical scene too fully; but we thought ourselves obliged, by that historic integrity which we profess, shortly to hint a matter which we would otherwise have been glad to have spared.
  3. (transitive) To develop and add hints to a font.
    The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.
Synonyms Translations
  • French: faire allusion
  • German: andeuten, (please verify) anspielen (de)
  • Portuguese: sugerir, indiciar
  • Russian: намека́ть
  • Spanish: dar un indicio



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