implication

American  

[im-pli-key-shuhn] / ˌɪm plɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

implications plural

1. something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood.

   to resent an implication of dishonesty.

2. the act of implying.

   His implication of immediate changes surprised us.

3. the state of being implied.

   to know only by implication.

4. Logic. the relation that holds between two propositions, or classes of propositions, in virtue of which one is logically deducible from the other.

5. the act of implicating or indicating that one or more persons may be involved, as in a crime.

   The implication of his accomplices came only after hours of grueling questioning by the police.

6. the state of being implicated.

   We recently heard of his implication in a conspiracy.

7. Usually implications. relationships of a close or intimate nature; involvements.

   the religious implications of ancient astrology.

   Synonyms:

   connection

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implication British  

/ ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of implicating or the state of being implicated

2. something that is implied; suggestion

   the implication of your silence is that you're bored

3. logic

   1. the operator that forms a sentence from two given sentences and corresponds to the English if … then …

   2. a sentence so formed. Usually written p→q or p⊃q, where p,q are the component sentences, it is true except when p (the antecedent) is true and q (the consequent) is false

   3. the relation between such sentences

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonimplication
  noun
• implicational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• implications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of implication

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English implicacio(u)n, from Latin implicātiōn-, stem of implicātiō “an interweaving,” equivalent to implicāt(us) “interwoven” ( see implicate) + -ion

Explanation

An implication is something that is suggested, or happens, indirectly. When you left the gate open and the dog escaped, you were guilty by implication. Implication has many different senses. Usually, when used in the plural, implications are effects or consequences that may happen in the future. You might ask, "What are the implications of our decision?" Implication is also the state of being implicated, or connected to something bad: "Are you surprised by their implication that you were involved in the crime?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

implication implications

That’s the implication of a recent study that analyzed which stock-picking strategies provided the best bear market protection over the past two centuries.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Perhaps the most significant implication is what the work could reveal about intelligence itself.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

Ibrahimovic would also post a video of himself and Henry doing some virtuoso juggling as Lalas stood idly by, the implication being that the two guys who call it football know what they’re doing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

The investment implication is precisely what contrarian investors tell us.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Eddington was shocked by that implication, and he refused to believe Chandrasekhar’s result.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

But new research published in Environmental Science and Technology on Wednesday shows the carbon footprint linked to metal mining could be 10 times greater than previously thought, with major implications for the world's climate goals.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

But given the scale of capital that it takes to build a company such as CoreWeave, “efficiency is a very different driver, and the implications of it are very different.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

"If improving how sunscreen looks leads to more consistent use, it could have real implications for skin cancer prevention."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

Do that repeatedly, year after year, and the implications are troubling.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Because of its potential importance for navigation, the whole business of obtaining accurate star positions was of key importance in the late seventeenth century, both commercially and because of its military implications.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

• conclusion
• connotation
• indication
• meaning
• overtone
• ramification
• significance