implication

[im-pli-key-shuhn]

See more synonyms for implication on Thesaurus.com

noun

something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood: to resent an implication of dishonesty.
the act of implying: His implication of immediate changes surprised us.
the state of being implied: to know only by implication.

Logic. the relation that holds between two propositions, or classes of propositions, in virtue of which one is logically deducible from the other.
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.
the state of being implicated: We recently heard of his implication in a conspiracy.
Usually implications. relationships of a close or intimate nature; involvements: the religious implications of ancient astrology.

Origin of implication

1400–50; late Middle English implicacio(u)n < Latin implicātiōn- (stem of implicātiō) an interweaving, equivalent to implicāt(us) (see implicate) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsim·pli·ca·tion·al, adjectivenon·im·pli·ca·tion, noun

Synonyms for implication

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7. associations, connections.

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

Related Words for implications

connotation, meaning, indication, significance, ramification, overtone, conclusion, presumption, guess, inference, reference, hint, innuendo, assumption, entanglement, union, connection, undertone, involvement, intimation

Examples from the Web for implications

Contemporary Examples of implications

An overwhelming amount of subtleties and implications were going over my head.
What Should I Call the Man I Love?
Dushka Zapata
November 18, 2014
Harris declined to comment to The Daily Beast on the implications of Initiative 71 for members of Congress.
Can Congress Get Stoned Now That D.C. Has Legalized Marijuana?
Abby Haglage
November 5, 2014
In an effort to cope with the implications of this question, Americans have subtly but sweepingly shifted their ideals.
How Young People Are Destroying Liberty
James Poulos
October 11, 2014
Well, the implications would be many and weighty, both for the diminished USA and for the new entity.
An Independent Scotland Will Hurt Labour
Michael Tomasky
September 17, 2014
We all got involved and got ourselves in trouble by really not looking at the implications of it.
What the Archives Say About Nixon
Scott Porch
August 8, 2014

Historical Examples of implications

"I cannot answer it," he said, but very firmly, in a tone that brushed aside all implications.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
I'll tell you this much, there are implications about this case that fascinate me!
We're Friends, Now
Henry Hasse
Let us now consider some of the implications of this concentration on rendering service.
Creating Capital
Frederick L. Lipman
How do these implications consist with the nebular hypothesis?
Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I
Herbert Spencer
But the men of the coast were not ready to admit its implications.
The Frontier in American History
Frederick Jackson Turner

British Dictionary definitions for implications

implication

noun

the act of implicating or the state of being implicated
something that is implied; suggestionthe implication of your silence is that you're bored
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

Derived Formsimplicational, adjective

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 implications

see implication.

implication

early 15c., "action of entangling," from Latin implicationem (nominative implicatio) "interweaving, entanglement," from past participle stem of implicare "involve, entangle, connect closely," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)). Meaning "something implied (but not expressed)" is from 1550s.