imply
Americanverb
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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
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.
Stronger growth data can become bad news because they imply tighter policy.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
They don't specify, but they clearly imply that the emails hacked are those of Ferguson.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
However, its encouraging comments about the first half as a whole imply a strong second quarter and the full-year guidance was reiterated, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
"What we did was to take seriously the idea that collapse models may be linked to gravity. And then we asked a very concrete question: What does this imply for time itself?" says Nicola Bortolotti.
From Science Daily • May 3, 2026
Somehow this is taken to imply that it never will.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
