in a way that faintly suggests or hints at something without fully explaining it; shadily or obscurely.
From 'adumbrate' (from Latin 'adumbrare,' to shadow or outline) plus the suffix '-ive' (having the quality of) plus '-ly' (in this manner). It means 'in a shadowy or suggestive way.'
Medieval and Renaissance scholars used 'adumbratively' to describe how ancient texts 'faintly shadowed forth' Christian truths—it's the fancy academic way of saying 'hints at something without being direct about it.'
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