The difference between Hint and Suggest

When used as verbs, hint means to suggest tacitly without a direct statement, whereas suggest means to imply but stop short of saying explicitly.


Hint is also noun with the meaning: a clue.

check bellow for the other definitions of Hint and Suggest

  1. Hint as a noun:

    A clue.

    Examples:

    "I needed a hint to complete the crossword."

  2. Hint as a noun:

    A tacit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.

    Examples:

    "He gave me a hint that my breath smelt."

  3. Hint as a noun:

    A small, barely detectable amount of.

    Examples:

    "There was a hint of irony in his voice."

    "I could taste a hint of lemon in the wine."

  4. Hint as a noun (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.

    Examples:

    "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. Hint as a noun (obsolete):

    An opportunity; occasion; fit time.

  1. Hint as a verb (intransitive):

    To suggest tacitly without a direct statement; to provide a clue.

    Examples:

    "She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes''."

  2. Hint as a verb (transitive):

    To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.

    Examples:

    "to hint a suspicion"

  3. Hint as a verb (transitive):

    To develop and add hints to a font.

    Examples:

    "The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens''."

  1. Suggest as a verb (transitive):

    To imply but stop short of saying explicitly.

    Examples:

    "Are you suggesting that I killed my wife?"

  2. Suggest as a verb:

    To make one suppose; cause one to suppose (something).

    Examples:

    "The name "hamburger" suggests that hamburgers originated from Hamburg."

  3. Suggest as a verb (transitive):

    To mention something as an idea, typically in order to recommend it

    Examples:

    "I’d like to suggest that we go out to lunch. I’d like to suggest going out to lunch."

    "The guidebook suggests that we visit the local cathedral, which is apparently beautiful."

  4. Suggest as a verb (obsolete, transitive):

    To seduce; to prompt to evil; to tempt.

Compare words: