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
Oliver Twist
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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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.
Warsh has vowed repeatedly over the last two months to restore price stability, to disabuse investors of the idea the Fed has implicitly accepted higher inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Ohtani, who signed a record 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023 after playing six years with the Angels, apparently trusted Mizuhara implicitly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Those methods both explicitly and implicitly reject the current citizenry’s role in the Constitution.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Since that unforgettable US Open run, Raducanu has shown she plays better when surrounded by long-time confidants who she trusts implicitly.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Plutarch, Ptolemy and all sorts of other authors believed this implicitly.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
