implicit

WOTD – 13 August 2007

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈplɪsɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• 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.
   • Alexander Pope

     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
• Catalan: implícit
• Czech: implicitní (cs)
• Danish: implicit (da)
• Dutch: impliciet (nl)
• Finnish: epäsuora, implisiittinen (fi)
• French: implicite (fr), tacite (fr)
• Galician: implícito
• German: implizit (de)
• Italian: implicito (it)
• Japanese: 暗黙の (anmoku no)
• Macedonian: имплицитен m (implicíten), подразбран m (pódrazbran)

• Occitan: implicit
• Persian: ضمنی (fa) (zemni)
• Polish: domyślny m, domniemany (pl) m, niejawny m
• Portuguese: implícito (pt)
• Romanian: implicit (ro)
• Russian: неявный (ru) (n'ejávnyj), скрытый (ru) (skrýtyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: fillte
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: имплицитан

  Roman: implicitan

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

contained in the essential nature

• Czech: implicitní (cs)
• Dutch: impliciet (nl)
• Finnish: implisiittinen (fi)
• French: inhérent (fr)
• German: implizit (de)
• Italian: implicito (it)
• Japanese: 潜在的な (せんざいてきな, senzaiteki na)

• Macedonian: својствен m (svójstven), суштински m (súštinski)
• Romanian: implicit (ro), inerent (ro)
• Russian: свойственный (ru) (svójstv'ennyj), присущий (ru) (prisúš'ij)
• Scottish Gaelic: fillte
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: инхерентан

  Roman: inherentan

unquestioning or unconditional

• Czech: bezvýhradný
• Dutch: absoluut (nl)
• Finnish: ehdoton (fi)
• French: absolu (fr), aveugle (fr)
• Italian: assoluto (it)
• Japanese: 絶対の (ja) (ぜったいの, zettai no), 絶対的な (ぜったいてきな, zettaiteki na)

• Macedonian: безусловен m (bezúsloven), безрезервен m (bezrézerven)
• Polish: absolutny (pl) m, bezwarunkowy (pl) m
• Romanian: absolut (ro)
• Russian: безусловный (ru) (b'ezuslóvnyj), полный (ru) (pólnyj), безоговорочный (ru) (b'ezogovóročnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: неявен

External links

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