implicit

See also: implícit

English

WOTD – 13 August 2007

Etymology

From Middle French implicite, from Latin implicitus, past participle of implico (“I infold, involve, entangle”); see implicate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈplɪsɪt/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɪsɪt

Adjective

implicit (not comparable)

1. Implied indirectly, without being directly expressed
   • 1983, Ronald Reagan, Proclamation 5018

     The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers' abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible's teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual.

2. Contained in the essential nature of something but not openly shown
3. Having no reservations or doubts; unquestioning or unconditional; usually said of faith or trust.
   • 1765, Anonymous, Considerations on Behalf of the Colonists:

     He is not only a zealous advocate for pusilanimous and passive obedience, but for the most implicit faith in the dictatorial mandates of power.

4. (obsolete) entangled, twisted together.
   • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)

     In his woolly fleece I cling implicit.

Synonyms

• (implied indirectly): implied, unspoken
• (contained in the essential nature): inherent, intrinsic
• (having no reservations): unconditional, unquestioning

Antonyms

• explicit

Derived terms

• implicitly
• implicitness

Related terms

• implicate
• implication
• implicative
• imply

Translations

implied indirectly

• Asturian: implícitu
• Belarusian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} косвен (bg) (kosven), ^{(please verify)} загатнат (bg) (zagatnat), ^{(please verify)} неявен (nejaven)
• Catalan: implícit
• Chinese: 隱含的 (zh), 不言明的
• Czech: implicitní (cs)
• Danish: implicit (da)
• Dutch: impliciet (nl)
• Finnish: epäsuora (fi), implisiittinen (fi)
• French: implicite (fr), tacite (fr)
• Galician: implícito
• German: implizit (de)
• Greek: υπονοούμενος (el) m (yponooúmenos), σιωπηρός (el) m (siopirós)
• Italian: implicito (it)
• Japanese: 暗黙の (ja) (anmoku no)

• Macedonian: имплици́тен m (implicíten), подразбран m (podrazbran)
• Occitan: implicit
• Persian: ضمنی‎ (fa) (zemni)
• Polish: domyślny (pl) m, domniemany (pl) m, niejawny m
• Portuguese: implícito (pt)
• Romanian: implicit (ro)
• Russian: нея́вный (ru) (nejávnyj), скры́тый (ru) (skrýtyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: fillte
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: имплицитан

  Roman: implicitan (sh)

• Spanish: implícito (es)
• Tagalog: hiwatig
• Turkish: örtülü (tr), üstü kapalı (tr)

contained in the essential nature

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} свойствен (bg) (svojstven)
• Catalan: implícit
• Chinese: 內含的 (zh), 固有的 (zh)
• Czech: implicitní (cs)
• Dutch: impliciet (nl)
• Finnish: implisiittinen (fi)
• French: inhérent (fr)
• German: implizit (de)
• Greek: εγγενής (el) m (engenís), σύμφυτος (el) m (sýmfytos)
• Italian: implicito (it)

• Japanese: 潜在的な (せんざいてきな, senzaiteki na)
• Macedonian: својствен m (svojstven), суштински m (suštinski)
• Portuguese: intrínseco (pt)
• Romanian: implicit (ro), inerent (ro)
• Russian: сво́йственный (ru) (svójstvennyj), прису́щий (ru) (prisúščij)
• Scottish Gaelic: fillte
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: инхерентан

  Roman: inherentan (sh)

unquestioning or unconditional

• Bulgarian: несъмнен (bg) (nesǎmnen)
• Catalan: absolut (ca)
• Chinese: 無疑的 (zh), 無保留的, 無條件的 (zh)
• Czech: bezvýhradný
• Dutch: absoluut (nl)
• Finnish: ehdoton (fi)
• French: absolu (fr), aveugle (fr)
• Greek: απεριόριστος (el) m (aperióristos), ανεπιφύλακτος (el) m (anepifýlaktos)

• Italian: assoluto (it)
• Japanese: 絶対の (ja) (ぜったいの, zettai no), 絶対的な (ja) (ぜったいてきな, zettaiteki na)
• Macedonian: безусловен m (bezusloven), безрезервен m (bezrezerven)
• Polish: absolutny (pl) m, bezwarunkowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: absoluto (pt)
• Romanian: absolut (ro)
• Russian: безусло́вный (ru) (bezuslóvnyj), по́лный (ru) (pólnyj), безогово́рочный (ru) (bezogovóročnyj)

Further reading

• implicit in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• implicit in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911