implicate

[im-pli-keyt]

See more synonyms for implicate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing.

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.

Archaic. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.

Origin of implicate

1530–40; < Latin implicātus past participle of implicāre to interweave, equivalent to im- im-¹ + plicā(re) to ply² + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsun·im·pli·cat·ed, adjective

Synonyms for implicate

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1. See involve.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for implicate

entangle, blame, embroil, incriminate, charge, accuse, suggest, affect, cite, impute, include, name, associate, tangle, relate, frame, stigmatize, hint, inculpate, insinuate

Examples from the Web for implicate

Contemporary Examples of implicate

Though there are many claims that implicate it in improved brain function, the evidence in support of this finding is tenuous.
Fish Oil, Turmeric, and Ginseng, Oh My! Are ‘Brain Foods’ B.S.?
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD
October 10, 2014
In Illinois, which houses some of the tougher DUI laws in the nation, even smoking a joint a week before can implicate you.
The Truth About Driving While Stoned
Abby Haglage
June 12, 2014
Several lines of scientific evidence have begun to implicate genes that control dopamine.
Are We Killing Our Sports Gene?
David Epstein
August 4, 2013
Pointing fingers, he stated “the people that I trusted to run it” are the ones to implicate.
Murdoch Hearing's 8 Best Moments
July 19, 2011
The lawyers accuse Headley of lying to implicate Rana in order to save his wife as well as his own life.
Terrorism Trial's Unreliable Narrator
ProPublica
May 30, 2011

Historical Examples of implicate

There was nothing in what he had to tell them that could implicate Mr. Dunbar.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon
How or where she would not say—one had the impression that she feared to implicate some one.
The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 1 (of 10)
Edith Wharton
Your son-in-law will certainly not endeavour to implicate you.
The Doctor of Pimlico
William Le Queux
And if she committed suicide, she would not implicate you in it by making you buy the poison.
If Winter Don't
Barry Pain
Now, however, you must do nothing more that might implicate you.
The Light of Scarthey
Egerton Castle

British Dictionary definitions for implicate

implicate

verb (tr)

to show to be involved, esp in a crime
to involve as a necessary inference; implyhis protest implicated censure by the authorities
to affect intimatelythis news implicates my decision
rare to intertwine or entangle

Derived Formsimplicative (ɪmˈplɪkətɪv), adjectiveimplicatively, adverb

Word Origin for implicate

C16: from Latin implicāre to involve, from im- + plicāre to fold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for implicate

early 15c., "to convey in a fable;" c.1600, "intertwine, wreathe," from Latin implicatus, past participle of implicare "to involve, entwine" (see implication). Meaning "involve a person in a crime, charge, etc.," is from 1797. Related: Implicated; implicating.