Difference of intimate, allude to, and imply
Learner's definition of INTIMATE
[+ object]
: to say or suggest (something) in an indirect way
He intimated (to us) that we should plan to arrive early.

allude to [phrasal verb]
allude to (something or someone)
: to speak of or mention (something or someone) in an indirect way
I'm interested in hearing more about the technology you alluded to a minute ago.
She alluded to her first marriage/husband

Well, I don't catch any difference between 'intimate' and 'allude' from the examples. Do they mean the almost same, and are 'intimate' and 'allude' interchangeable in the above examples? Plus, are they also interchangeable with imply?

Question

Difference of intimate, allude to, and imply
Learner's definition of INTIMATE
[+ object]
: to say or suggest (something) in an indirect way
He intimated (to us) that we should plan to arrive early.

allude to [phrasal verb]
allude to (something or someone)
: to speak of or mention (something or someone) in an indirect way
I'm interested in hearing more about the technology you alluded to a minute ago.
She alluded to her first marriage/husband

Well, I don't catch any difference between 'intimate' and 'allude' from the examples. Do they mean the almost same, and are 'intimate' and 'allude' interchangeable in the above examples? Plus, are they also interchangeable with imply?

Answer

The difference between intimate and allude is that intimate tells you something (indirectly) but allude tells you about something (indirectly).  it is a subtle but definite difference. Imply is similar to, and much more common than intimate. 
They can be used interchangeably, with adjustments to the grammar.
'She intimated that her husband was having an affair'. 'She alluded to her husband's affair'.

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