implicit

American  

[im-plis-it] / ɪmˈplɪs ɪt /

adjective

1. implied, rather than expressly stated.

   implicit agreement.

2. unquestioning or unreserved; unconditional: implicit obedience;

   implicit trust;

   implicit obedience;

   implicit confidence.

   Synonyms:

   total, complete, absolute, unqualified

3. potentially contained (usually followed byin ).

   to bring out the drama implicit in the occasion.

4. Mathematics. (of a function) having the dependent variable not explicitly expressed in terms of the independent variables, as x 2 + y 2 = 1.

5. Obsolete. entangled.

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implicit British  

/ ɪmˈplɪsɪt /

adjective

1. not explicit; implied; indirect

   there was implicit criticism in his voice

2. absolute and unreserved; unquestioning

   you have implicit trust in him

3. contained or inherent

   to bring out the anger implicit in the argument

4. maths (of a function) having an equation of the form f( x,y ) = 0, in which y cannot be directly expressed in terms of x, as in xy + x ² + y ³ x ² = 0 Compare explicit 1

5. obsolete intertwined

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Other Word Forms

• implicitness
  noun
• implicity
  noun
• implicitly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of implicit

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin implicitus “involved, obscure,” variant past participle of implicāre; see origin at implicate, -ite ²

Explanation

Use the adjective implicit when you mean that something is understood but not clearly stated. You might think you and your boyfriend might have an implicit understanding that you are going to get married, but it's probably better to talk it through. A very near synonym of implicit in this particular meaning is the word implied. But the adjective implicit also means "without any doubt," so we can say that we have implicit trust or confidence in someone. The Latin root implicāre means "to involve or entangle." Another English word with a more obvious connection to this Latin root is the verb implicate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

implicit

Grounded in love, her message also came with an implicit challenge: You can do better.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Let me reiterate: There is no soft inflation target. There is no soft implicit target. Not on this committee’s watch,” he said during his press conference on July 29.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

“A combination of touching aspiration and predictable demagogy implicit in an attitude of eternal intention.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The implicit joke in the song is that no “streetwise Hercules,” as Tyler describes the man she seeks, could ever come on stronger or faster than she herself does over Steinman’s relentless groove.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Their implicit message was that we were moving into what would become our own cemetery.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Related Words

• constant
• contained
• definite
• implied
• latent
• steadfast
• tacit
• unshakable
• unspoken