Imply

//ɪmˈplaɪ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A logic gate that implements material implication.
Verb
  1. 1
    To have as a necessary consequence; to lead to (something) as a consequence. transitive

    "Correlation does not imply causation"

  2. 2
    express or state indirectly wordnet
  3. 3
    To suggest by logical inference. transitive

    "When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown."

  4. 4
    suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic wordnet
  5. 5
    To hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement. transitive

    "What do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't wash my hands?"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    have as a logical consequence wordnet
  2. 7
    To enfold, entangle. archaic

    "And in his bosome secretly there lay / An hatefull Snake, the which his taile vptyes / In many folds, and mortall sting implyes."

  3. 8
    have as a necessary feature wordnet
  4. 9
    suggest that someone is guilty wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
entailentailinvolveimplicate;accuse

Example

More examples

"What does "There is a tide" imply?"

Etymology

From Middle English implien, emplien, borrowed from Old French emplier, from Latin implicare (“to infold, involve”), from in (“in”) + plicare (“to fold”). Doublet of employ and implicate.

More for "imply"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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