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

Under the longstanding test from 1977’s Arlington Heights case, courts are required to look for explicit and implicit evidence of racial bias in government decisionmaking, which includes statements made by elected officials.

From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026

His victory speech, in the middle of the night, was, paragraph by paragraph, implicit about his ambitions and in totality almost explicit.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

This is implicit in the chart above, which shows the slope of the fair-value line becoming nearly flat.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

His statement on Monday included an implicit criticism of Tokyo, which Beijing has sought to pressure and isolate in response to what China sees as a return to Japanese “militarism.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

As an implicit rule, we do not talk about our family.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

Related Words

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