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to refer casually or indirectly; make an (usually followed by to):
he often alluded to his poverty.
to contain a casual or indirect reference (usually followed by to):
the letter alludes to something now forgotten.
contemporary examples

but last month, mousavi alluded to them, suggesting that his cabinet was kept in the dark.
mysterious letter exposes iranian state secrets omid memarian august 6, 2010

but behind the scenes he was confronted about a facebook message that alluded to abuse.
exclusive: the untold drama of the jerry sandusky trial diane dimond june 25, 2012

saif alluded to this style of justice in comments he submitted in june to the icc.
incompetence, lack of safeguards suggest saif al-islam gaddafi may not get fair trial jamie dettmer august 22, 2012

obama alluded to his own 2009 speech in cairo reaching out to the muslim world to build a better future for all.
saudi arabia’s comic book fatwa christopher d-ckey march 27, 2014

fox himself has alluded to a tempestuous relationship with his wife.
dominic monaghan, matthew fox, and a scandalous twitter accusation tricia romano may 31, 2012

historical examples

he had alluded to that other way of repairing the busted family credit just to observe the effect on bob.
nothing but the truth frederic s. isham

how can our rights and the rights of mankind to which the president has alluded be made secure?
the spirit of lafayette james mott hallowell

the conscious cecilia here turned away her head; too certain he alluded to the discovery of her partiality.
cecilia, volume 2 (of 3) frances (f-nny) burney (madame d’arblay)

while thus employed, a messenger came in from the head chief, who resided in the village on the eminence to which we have alluded.
the adventures of the chevalier de la salle and his companions, in their explorations of the prairies, forests, lakes, and rivers, of the new world, and their interviews with the savage tribes, two hundred years ago john s. c. abbott

dinner was over and the table cleared before holmes alluded to the matter again.
the return of sherlock holmes arthur conan doyle

verb (intransitive) foll by to
to refer indirectly, briefly, or implicitly
(loosely) to mention
v.

1530s, “mock,” from middle french alluder or directly from latin alludere “to play, sport, joke, jest,” from ad- “to” (see ad-) + ludere “to play” (see ludicrous). meaning “make an indirect reference, point in p-ssing” is from 1570s. related: alluded; alluding.