give someone to understand

verb

To tell someone, especially indirectly; to insinuate.

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Meanings

verbgive someone to understand (third-person singular simple present gives someone to understand, present participle giving someone to understand, simple past gave someone to understand, past participle given someone to understand)

present singular third person gives someone to understand · participle present giving someone to understand · past gave someone to understand · participle past given someone to understand

  1. idiomaticchiefly passive voiceTo tell someone, especially indirectly; to insinuate.

    Hadn't she explained and described and even—though lightly, of course; she couldn't say such a thing directly—given him to understand that this was the one unforgivable thing.

    1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Revelations”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 264
Cite this entry
APA

give someone to understand. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20to%20understand

MLA

“give someone to understand.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20to%20understand. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “give someone to understand,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20to%20understand.

Source: give someone to understand on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.