imply
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to express or indicate by a hint; suggest
what 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
Usage
See infer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
implysimple
-
impliessimple
-
have impliedperfect
-
has impliedperfect
-
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
-
impliedsimple
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had impliedperfect
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was implyingprogressive
-
were implyingprogressive
-
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 government promised to deliver 1.5m new homes in England over the five years of this Parliament, which would imply an average annual rate of 300,000.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The EMH doesn’t imply that the market is never wrong, but it means that, on average across all securities, the price is right.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
"It doesn’t necessarily imply demolition, but the building must undergo a technical review to determine if it can be repaired," he told to AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Our assumption is that flows will only get close to prewar levels towards the end of the third quarter, while current price levels imply a return to normal by the end of July.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
As I said, I thought at first that the no boundary condition did indeed imply that disorder would decrease in the contracting phase.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
"Calling it swinging implies consent, and therefore puts the blame at the feet of the women, and that makes it silencing for those women."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
This history implies a high probability that the junk spread will be significantly higher within the next year or two.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
That implies that while scrapping the digital ID scheme will reduce a spending pressure on the government it will not, in itself, pay for the VAT cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
He says that the adjusted Ebitda outlook implies a 13% y/y growth, but results and trends suggest upside, especially after a strong June performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The secrecy of weapons development, carried to especially extravagant lengths in the Soviet Union, implies that individuals so employed need almost never accept responsibility for their actions.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The BBC confirmed it was Winkleman's decision to stop, and implied that they would've happily commissioned a second series - and possibly already had.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Global capital markets have recorded sharp volatility recently, with pullbacks for major Chinese and global indices and rising implied volatility, Meng notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The judge found that when read as a whole, the piece implied wrongdoing by the ministers as it also mentioned secrecy and money laundering.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The yen/dollar rate is around 162, with the three-month implied correlation index lower than where it stood two years ago.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
More generally, a modifier can dangle when its implied subject is the writer and the reader, as in To summarize and In order to start the motor in the examples above.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Cook's comments flagged greater concern over inflation than employment currently, implying that she could support a rate hike down the line.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The company is expected to have sold between 401,000 and 406,024 vehicles in the just-completed second quarter, implying growth of up to 5.7% from a year earlier, according to analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Here are the 20 with consensus price targets implying the highest upside potential from Wednesday’s closing prices:
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Under Prologis’s proposal, Segro shareholders would have received 0.084 new Prologis shares for each Segro share held, implying a value of 925 pence a share, the U.S. company said Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
You could go around implying you’d read all kinds of things, nodding knowingly when someone mentioned, say, War and Peace, and the understanding was that no one would scrutinise your claim too rationally.
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.
