Allusively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that conveys meanings or ideas through indirect suggestions rather than direct statements
2. Doing something in a way that evokes implicit references or allusions rather than overt expressions
3. In a fashion that hints at ideas or concepts without making them explicit or direct

Etymology: "Allusively" is a plain formation: the adjective "allusive" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added. The adjective comes from "allusion," itself rooted in the Latin verb "alludere," meaning "to play with" or "to sport with," built from "ad-" ("toward") and "ludere" ("to play"). The idea of a playful gesture toward something unstated is what the modern sense preserves: an allusive remark touches on a subject without naming it outright. The ending traces back much further than the Latin. The "-ly" suffix descends from Old English "-līce," which was itself the adverb-forming ending attached to adjectives, and it runs back through Proto-Germanic "-līkō" to the Proto-Indo-European root "*leyg-," meaning "form" or "body." So an adverb like "allusively" carries, in its last syllable, a very old sense of shape or likeness: to speak allusively is, in effect, to speak in the form of something rather than stating it plainly.

Synonyms: suggestively, implicitly, hintingly, obliquely, indirectly

Antonyms: explicitly, clearly, directly, overtly, plainly