implication

[im-pli-key-shuhn]

noun

1. something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood.

   to resent an implication of dishonesty.

2. the act of implying.

   His implication of immediate changes surprised us.

3. the state of being implied.

   to know only by implication.

4. Logic.,  the relation that holds between two propositions, or classes of propositions, in virtue of which one is logically deducible from the other.

5. the act of implicating or indicating that one or more persons may be involved, as in a crime.

   The implication of his accomplices came only after hours of grueling questioning by the police.

6. the state of being implicated.

   We recently heard of his implication in a conspiracy.

7. Usually implications. relationships of a close or intimate nature; involvements.

   the religious implications of ancient astrology.

   Synonyms: connection

implication

/ ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of implicating or the state of being implicated

2. something that is implied; suggestion

   the implication of your silence is that you're bored

3. logic

   1. the operator that forms a sentence from two given sentences and corresponds to the English if … then …

   2. a sentence so formed. Usually written p→q or p⊃q, where p,q are the component sentences, it is true except when p (the antecedent) is true and q (the consequent) is false

   3. the relation between such sentences

Other Word Forms

• implicational adjective
• nonimplication noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of implication¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English implicacio(u)n, from Latin implicātiōn-, stem of implicātiō “an interweaving,” equivalent to implicāt(us) “interwoven” ( implicate ) + -ion

Example Sentences

The implications of the authors’ conclusion is significant.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In 2023, in an Instagram post supporting a campaign against AI by US media union SAG-Aftra, she described attempts at recreating his voice as "personally disturbing", while also pointing to the wider implications.

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Moody, 47, learned he had the degenerative, muscle-wasting condition two weeks ago and has told BBC Breakfast that he is struggling to confront the implications of his diagnosis.

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"It's the sadness around having to tell my mum - as an only child - and the implications that has for her."

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This can have wider implications for a couple beyond just looking mismatched in public, Ifesinachi says.

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Related Words

• conclusion 
• connotation 
• indication 
• meaning 
• overtone 
• ramification 
• significance