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3. allude to

allude to

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allude to

1. To indirectly or vaguely refer to something. What exactly are you alluding to? Just come right out and say it!

2. To reference another source. Shakespeare alludes to the Bible in many of his works.

allude to someone or something

to refer to someone or something; to make an implication about someone or something. I did not mean to allude to someone you disliked so much. I alluded to the accident only once.

allude to somebody/something

(slightly formal)

to refer to someone or something briefly or indirectly In his letter, Dick alluded to problems the company was facing, but he never suggested they were going out of business.