Implication

//ˌɪmpləˈkeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of implicating. uncountable
  2. 2
    something that is inferred (deduced or entailed or implied) wordnet
  3. 3
    The state of being implicated. uncountable
  4. 4
    a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred wordnet
  5. 5
    A possible, or indirect, effect or result of a decision or action. countable

    "Dumping waste in the river will have serious implications for the environment."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    an accusation that brings into intimate and usually incriminating connection wordnet
  2. 7
    An implying, or that which is implied, but not expressed; an inference, or something which may fairly be understood, though not expressed in words. countable, uncountable

    "But we can also take a more analytical attitude to these displays, interpreting the movements as no more than approachings, touchings, and departings with no implication that one shape caused the other to move."

  3. 8
    a relation implicated by virtue of involvement or close connection (especially an incriminating involvement) wordnet
  4. 9
    The connective in propositional calculus that, when joining two predicates A and B in that order, has the meaning "if A is true, then B is true". countable
  5. 10
    a logical relation between propositions p and q of the form ‘if p then q’; if p is true then q cannot be false wordnet
  6. 11
    Logical consequence. countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

"What was the implication of his remark?"

Etymology

From Middle French implication, from Latin implicationem (accusative of implicatio).Equivalent to implicate + -ion.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.