implicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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implicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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implicated,
past participle, past
-
implicating
present participle
-
to show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner.
to be implicated in a crime.
-
to imply as a necessary circumstance, or as something to be inferred or understood.
-
to connect or relate to intimately; affect as a consequence.
The malfunctioning of one part of the nervous system implicates another part.
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Archaic. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.
verb
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to show to be involved, esp in a crime
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to involve as a necessary inference; imply
his protest implicated censure by the authorities
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to affect intimately
this news implicates my decision
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rare to intertwine or entangle
Synonym Usage
See involve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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implicatesimple
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implicatessimple
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have implicatedperfect
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has implicatedperfect
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am implicatingprogressive
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are implicatingprogressive
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is implicatingprogressive
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have been implicatingperfect progressive
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has been implicatingperfect progressive
Past
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implicatedsimple
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had implicatedperfect
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was implicatingprogressive
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were implicatingprogressive
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had been implicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of implicate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin implicātus, past participle of implicāre “to interweave,” equivalent to im- im- 1 + plicā(re) “to fold” + -ātus -ate 1; see ply 2
Explanation
The verb implicate means "to connect or involve in something." For example, your cousins might implicate you in the planning of a big party for your grandparents. Implicate comes from the Latin word implicare, meaning "to entwine, involve." When you implicate someone, you bring him or her into a group or to pitch in on a project. Implicate can have criminal connotations when it means "to connect in an incriminating manner," like when detectives figure out who drove the getaway car in the bank robbery — that person will be implicated for his or her role in the crime.
Vocabulary lists containing implicate
Just Mercy
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Monster
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Wasn't Me: The Lingo of Laying Blame
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These threats implicate the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of assembly as well as of freedom of speech.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal questioned why Davis would implicate himself in a murder if the account was a fabrication.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“For the first time in this litigation, the government argues that civil detention ‘does not implicate any fundamental rights’ and so the Due Process Clause affords the detained men no protections—substantive or procedural,” they wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
However, he first tried to get Matthew Chaskalson, the lawyer responsible for presenting evidence to the commission, removed for perceived bias, saying he was trying to get him to implicate another witness.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
There are three pieces of evidence that weaken the climate alibi, and implicate our ancestors in the extinction of the Australian megafauna.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Florian Zeller’s “Bunker” at least implicates its characters in the politics it professes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Once a right is established through state law,” Flores argues, “a deprivation of the right implicates federal procedural due process protection.”
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
No evidence has been released that implicates Zelensky personally in graft or any other criminal activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
Crucially, it further implicates the outstanding suspects and opens up evidential opportunities.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
Booth also has left behind clues—among them a business card bearing the name J. Harrison Surratt and a letter from Samuel Arnold, who had been part of the kidnapping plot, that implicates Michael O’Laughlen.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Other high-ranking officials have been implicated, with former deputy prime minister Arben Ahmetaj fleeing to Switzerland while denying any wrongdoing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, Juve, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were all implicated in influencing referees.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Knight from 1977, the court ruled that the denial of a press pass implicated a First Amendment liberty interest.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
They said over the past 18 years, Davis implicated himself on four separate occasions through interviews with federal and local investigators, appearances in television and YouTube documentaries, and his memoir.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
None of Booth’s conspirators knew it, but Booth had already implicated all of them!
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Walters’ supporters further argue that Oxford’s statements implicating Walters—as well as Travis’ testimony against him—were tainted, the result of the men being coerced by police and angling for lighter sentences.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
In his closing argument, defense attorney Brian Steel painted Hester, Jones and Grant as unreliable “snitches, cooperators, rats” seeking to secure a lighter sentence by implicating Banks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Sanft said there was no evidence implicating Davis in Shakur's murder other than his own statements.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
“The visual graphic, which was widely circulated online, was mismatched with the table of results, thus implicating both of our formulas,” Bauer said.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026
The risk of implicating ourselves in Katz’s death was too great.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
