imply
Americanverb (used with object)
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implies,
present (3rd person singular)
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implied,
past participle, past
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implying
present participle
verb
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to express or indicate by a hint; suggest
what are you implying by that remark?
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to suggest or involve as a necessary consequence
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logic to enable (a conclusion) to be inferred
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obsolete to entangle or enfold
Usage
See infer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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implysimple
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impliessimple
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have impliedperfect
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has impliedperfect
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am implyingprogressive
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are implyingprogressive
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is implyingprogressive
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have been implyingperfect progressive
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has been implyingperfect progressive
Past
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impliedsimple
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had impliedperfect
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was implyingprogressive
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were implyingprogressive
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had been implyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of imply
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English implien, emplien, from Middle French emplier, from Latin implicāre; see implicate
Explanation
Imply means to express, suggest, or show something without stating it directly: A friend’s gruff manner would imply that she’s in a foul mood. The verb imply comes from a Latin word meaning “enfold or entangle” but has come to mean “to hint at.” You might imply something that you don’t want to outright say if you’re feeling coy. If you don’t call someone back after she leaves eight messages, you imply that you don’t want to chat. When you make a subtle suggestion, you imply.
Vocabulary lists containing imply
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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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.
See Examples For:
The high times, prosecutors seemed to imply, had been bankrolled by the Roebucks’ cash.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Ideally they should come fresh from your garden, eaten with just enough dirt still clinging to them to imply virtue.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Although much of the guidance increase results from the stronger than anticipated Q2 results, it does imply a better H2 performance than our prior expectations,” he says in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Andrew Franks, who the court heard opened the synagogue compound gates to Al-Shamie, was also given interested person status, but the coroner said this did not imply any "criticism or culpability" on his behalf.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
I don’t mean to imply that the road was always smooth.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
It’s the kind of Hollywood support that implies an Oscar nomination is still on the table, even if the possibility of a win seems more difficult now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Dan Bird, from cyber security firm Horizon3 says the pop up message the criminals sent implies that their access has gone beyond the Snowflake database.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
A dose implies only a portion — which probably means more hikes may come down the road.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026
This implies that the cool gas component might already exist as a reservoir surrounding the galaxy uniformly on all sides.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Such an approach implies that the sort of knowledge obtained by experiment need not be a reliable guide to how nature works.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
But it was easy to see an implied threat, according to one of these people and other officials briefed on the conversation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
In North Carolina, our curiosity would have to be implied.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
This argument would essentially function as a variation on the so-called dormant commerce clause by inferring implied constitutional constraints on states’ sovereign powers.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
She added that she often felt dismissed by colleagues who implied she was faking her condition but was lucky that her manager was supportive.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
A certain World Bank official implied that Alex’s brashness and outspokenness turned off many people.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Those features include preventing teen ChatGPT users from engaging in romantic or other language that could encourage " emotional dependence," including preventing the tool from implying that it was in any way conscious.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The analysts also cut their price target to $30 from $47, with the new target implying room to fall 16% from current levels.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Around 10 billion euros of special items will weigh on earnings this year, implying an underlying margin of roughly 4%, broadly in line with expectations, Deutsche Bank adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
CarMax’s main competitor, Carvana, spooked investors in late July when it issued full-year guidance implying a less profitable second half of 2026 than analysts expected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
I could have challenged Ruth, told her she was twisting things, that even if I might have laughed, it wasn’t in the way she was implying.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions 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.
