Some speakers never quite tell a lie, yet you leave the conversation knowing less than when you started. They hint instead of saying, dodge instead of answering, and dress up weak reasons in fancy words. This topic names their moves.
Key idea
Hinting: insinuate, innuendo. Dodging: evasive, equivocate, prevaricate. Hiding: dissemble (hide your feelings), obfuscate (make it murky). Fake cleverness: glib, sophistry, quibble.
When you read an argument, these words help you say exactly what is wrong with it: not just “I don’t trust him,” but “his answer was evasive, and his reasoning was sophistry.”
The ten words
Common mistake
dissemble (hide one's motives) is not disassemble (take apart). equivocate and prevaricate both dodge the truth; prevaricate leans toward lying.
| move | words | what the speaker does |
|---|---|---|
| hinting | insinuate, innuendo | suggests something unkind without saying it |
| dodging | evasive, equivocate, prevaricate | avoids a straight answer; prevaricate comes closest to lying |
| hiding | dissemble, obfuscate | hides true feelings; makes things murky |
| fake cleverness | glib, sophistry, quibble | smooth but shallow; false reasoning; fusses over trifles |
Insinuate is the verb; innuendo is the noun for the hint itself. And dissemble (hide your feelings) is not disassemble (take apart).