allude

intr.v., -lud·ed, -lud·ing, -ludes.
To make an indirect reference: The candidate alluded to the recent war by saying, "We've all made sacrifices."

[Latin allūdere, to play with : ad-, ad- + lūdere, to play (from lūdus, game).]

USAGE NOTE   Allude and allusion are often used where the more general terms refer and reference would be preferable. Allude and allusion normally apply to indirect references in which the source is not specifically identified: "Well, we'll always have Paris," he told the travel agent, in an allusion tofor my conclusion: As Polonius says, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." See Usage Notes at refer.

IN BRIEF: To suggest or infer.

I wasn't trying to allude to anything.

Tutor's tip: To "allude" is to imply or refer to something in a vague way; to "elude" is to escape or evade; "elute" means to extract through absorption.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: make a more or less disguised reference to
  Synonyms: touch, advert

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - hentyde, antyde

idioms:

• allude to    hentyde til, referere til

Nederlands (Dutch)
zinspelen (op), noemen

Français (French)
v. intr. - faire allusion, avoir trait à, se rapporter à

Deutsch (German)
v. - anspielen auf

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - υπαινίσσομαι, υπονοώ, αναφέρομαι έμμεσα

idioms:

• allude to    υπαινίσσομαι, εννοώ, υπονοώ

Italiano (Italian)
alludere

idioms:

• allude to    fare allusione a

Português (Portuguese)
v. - aludir, fazer referências

idioms:

• allude to    referir-se a

Русский (Russian)
ссылаться, упоминать

idioms:

• allude to    ссылаться на

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - aludir, referirse, hacer alusión

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - hänsyfta, åsyfta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
间接提到, 暗示, 影射

idioms:

• allude to    间接提到

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 間接提到, 暗示, 影射

idioms:

• allude to    間接提到

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 암시하다

idioms:

• allude to    넌지시 말하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - ほのめかす, それとなく言う

idioms:

• allude to    ほのめかす遠まわしに言及する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يلمح يشير مداوره‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮רמז, הזכיר‬

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allude