implicate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
implicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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.
-
Archaic. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.
verb
-
to show to be involved, esp in a crime
-
to involve as a necessary inference; imply
his protest implicated censure by the authorities
-
to affect intimately
this news implicates my decision
-
rare to intertwine or entangle
Synonym Usage
See involve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
implicatesimple
-
implicatessimple
-
have implicatedperfect
-
has implicatedperfect
-
am implicatingprogressive
-
are implicatingprogressive
-
is implicatingprogressive
-
have been implicatingperfect progressive
-
has been implicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
implicatedsimple
-
had implicatedperfect
-
was implicatingprogressive
-
were implicatingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Monster
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Wasn't Me: The Lingo of Laying Blame
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Earlier this month, a leaked Spanish police report seemed to implicate Moroccan police in the incident.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Roughly 173,000 documents released Tuesday, and additional ones which will be published online in waves over the next 12 months, could implicate two former New York mayors.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 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
He claimed the department sought to make an example of him because he refused to implicate his superiors in wrongdoing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
He's sure that Karl understands, sure that Karl knows that Helmuth has taken the blame, sure Karl understands not to say anything that will implicate himself more during his interrogation.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
No evidence has been released that implicates Zelensky personally in graft or any other criminal activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
“If you’re in a community where everyone’s supposed to be taking care of you and you’re supposed to be taking care of them, if you have a problem, that implicates your whole group,” Hall said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
It implicates Senussi, Masud and the two Libyans who faced trial over Lockerbie at a Scottish Court in the Netherlands more than 20 years ago.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2025
Nothing about Smith’s conduct implicates either the DOJ policy or the 60-day rule.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 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
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
“There is a theoretically plausible benefit in that the vaccine does target IL-6, and IL-6 is implicated in heart disease, in the greater likelihood of having heart-disease events,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
"The individuals implicated in these case studies are working scientists. We do not assert that they intended harm, and identifying them or their labs could expose them to harm," the report said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Isaac Dailey, who had been falsely accused by Myers of committing the Pittman murder, explained how Myers had falsely implicated Walter in the Pittman crime.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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
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
This has led to research implicating the microbiome in everything from Crohn's disease to cancer to mental health.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025
They were hiding the room for themselves and, in the process, implicating me in the biggest heist of all time.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
