implicitly
Americanadverb
-
without actually saying so; in a way that does not use words.
Consumers buying the company’s products are implicitly accepting its practices.
-
without question or reservation; absolutely.
I trusted her implicitly and listened intently to everything she said.
-
as an inherent but hidden part of the way things are; latently.
The threat of violence against women is implicitly present all around us, everywhere.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of implicitly
Explanation
When you express something indirectly, you say it implicitly. Your sister might implicitly suggest that you're the one who ate the last cookie by glaring at you then looking at the empty plate. When you communicate something implicitly, you don't say it directly. Instead, you might drop hints or let your actions express it, like when a teacher doesn't stop a kid from bullying another, which implicitly says it's okay to bully. Implicitly can also be a synonym for absolutely — you trust your best friend implicitly: completely, without any reservations.
Vocabulary lists containing implicitly
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Oliver Twist
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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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.
Israel Gantz, head of an umbrella settler group, blamed recent incidents on "groups of provocateurs and terrorists" but implicitly acknowledged some Israelis' responsibility.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
As played by Ms. Anderson, Dayle is deliciously insouciant, implicitly lethal, and knows how to deal with both kidnappers and the parents of the missing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
For Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo, this has implicitly downplayed Africa's vast resources, population and investment opportunities.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Query why emoluments get the backhand, and this clause is sort of forgotten and maybe implicitly deemed as this backwater.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
“True enough—but that paper still isn’t sufficient. It recognizes me implicitly as a human being.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
