insinuate vs refer

insinuate

verb
  • To ingratiate; to obtain access to or introduce something by subtle, cunning or artful means. 

  • To hint; to suggest tacitly (usually something bad) while avoiding a direct statement. 

  • To creep, wind, or flow into; to enter gently, slowly, or imperceptibly, as into crevices. 

refer

verb
  • To direct the attention of (someone toward something) 

  • To point to either a specific location in computer memory or to a specific object. 

  • To mention (something); to direct attention (to something) 

  • To submit to (another person or group) for consideration; to send or direct elsewhere. 

  • To make reference to; to be about; to relate to; to regard; to allude to. 

  • To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation. 

  • Required to resit an examination. 

  • To be referential to another element in a sentence. 

noun
  • A blurb on the front page of a newspaper issue or section that refers the reader to the full story inside the issue or section by listing its slug or headline and its page number. 

How often have the words insinuate and refer occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )