implied

[im-plahyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR implied ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

involved, indicated, or suggested without being directly or explicitly stated; tacitly understood: an implied rebuke; an implied compliment.

Origin of implied

First recorded in 1520–30; imply + -ed²

Related formsim·pli·ed·ly

[im-plahy-id-lee] /ɪmˈplaɪ ɪd li/, adverbun·im·plied, adjectivewell-im·plied, adjective

Can be confusedexplicit implicit implied

imply

[im-plahy]

verb (used with object), im·plied, im·ply·ing.

to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated: His words implied a lack of faith.

(of words) to signify or mean.

to involve as a necessary circumstance: Speech implies a speaker.

Obsolete. to enfold.

Origin of imply

1325–75; Middle English implien, emplien < Middle French emplier < Latin implicāre; see implicate

Related formsre·im·ply, verb (used with object), re·im·plied, re·im·ply·ing.su·per·im·ply, verb (used with object), su·per·im·plied, su·per·im·ply·ing.

Can be confusedimply infer (see usage note at infer)

Synonyms for imply

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR imply ON THESAURUS.COM

3. assume, include.

Usage note

See infer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for implied

latent, tacit, implicit, unspoken, lurking, hidden, indirect, suggested, intended, indicated, involved, inferred, occult, understood, unsaid, parallel, meant, figured, insinuated

Examples from the Web for implied

Contemporary Examples of implied

“Call me when the plane leaves the ground,” she said, in a tone that implied she knew her husband well.
Mario Cuomo, a Frustrating Hero to Democrats, Is Dead at 82
Eleanor Clift
January 2, 2015
In doing so, he implied the obsolescence of that most embedded of British watering holes, the pub.
Beer Countries vs. Wine Countries
Clive Irving
December 7, 2014
It was a duel on a larger scale, with all the uncertainty and danger that implied.
How Clausewitz Invented Modern War
James A. Warren
November 24, 2014
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will implied in an interview that Ebola may be airborne.
George Will, Fox News, and the Beginning of an Ebola Conspiracy
Russell Saunders
October 22, 2014
But Francis has also implied that his hands are tied when it comes to changing doctrine or altering church teachings.
The Pope vs. the Church on Family Values?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
October 6, 2014

Historical Examples of implied

There was an implied crime-partnership in her glance which revolted him.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Crane must know that it was his implied desires that had led up to the stopping of Lucretia.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
He had felt a moral superiority in denying the implied bad habits.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Day after day, she was ridiculed for what implied no blame, and admitted of no remedy.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
It was a species of punctuation, and implied that Mr. Morgan had finished his remark.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman

British Dictionary definitions for implied

implied

adjective

hinted at or suggested; not directly expressedan implied criticism

Derived Formsimpliedly (ɪmˈplaɪɪdlɪ), adverb

imply

verb -plies, -plying or -plied (tr; may take a clause as object)

to express or indicate by a hint; suggestwhat are you implying by that remark?

to suggest or involve as a necessary consequence

logic to enable (a conclusion) to be inferred

obsolete to entangle or enfold

Word Origin for imply

C14: from Old French emplier, from Latin implicāre to involve; see implicate

xref

See infer

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 implied

imply

late 14c., "to enfold, enwrap, entangle" (the classical Latin sense), from Old French emplier, from Latin implicare "involve" (see implication). Meaning "to involve something unstated as a logical consequence" first recorded c.1400; that of "to hint at" from 1580s. Related: Implied; implying. The distinction between imply and infer is in "What do you imply by that remark?" But, "What am I to infer from that remark?"