imply

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈplaɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Hyphenation: im‧ply

Verb

imply (third-person singular simple present implies, present participle implying, simple past and past participle implied)

1. (transitive, of a proposition) to have as a necessary consequence

   The proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal.

2. (transitive, of a person) to suggest by logical inference

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

3. (transitive, of a person or proposition) to hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement

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

4. (archaic) to enfold, entangle.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book 1, canto 4:

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

Conjugation

conjugation of imply

infinitive				imply
present participle				implying
past participle				implied
	simple			progressive			perfect			perfect progressive
present	I imply	we imply		I am implying	we are implying		I have implied	we have implied		I have been implying	we have been implying
	you imply	you imply		you are implying	you are implying		you have implied	you have implied		you have been implying	you have been implying
	he implies	they imply		he is implying	they are implying		he has implied	they have implied		he has been implying	they have been implying
past	I implied	we implied		I was implying	we were implying		I had implied	we had implied		I had been implying	we had been implying
	you implied	you implied		you were implying	you were implying		you had implied	you had implied		you had been implying	you had been implying
	he implied	they implied		he was implying	they were implying		he had implied	they had implied		he had been implying	they had been implying
future	I will imply	we will imply		I will be implying	we will be implying		I will have implied	we will have implied		I will have been implying	we will have been implying
	you will imply	you will imply		you will be implying	you will be implying		you will have implied	you will have implied		you will have been implying	you will have been implying
	he will imply	they will imply		he will be implying	they will be implying		he will have implied	they will have implied		he will have been implying	they will have been implying
conditional	I would imply	we would imply		I would be implying	we would be implying		I would have implied	we would have implied		I would have been implying	we would have been implying
	you would imply	you would imply		you would be implying	you would be implying		you would have implied	you would have implied		you would have been implying	you would have been implying
	he would imply	they would imply		he would be implying	they would be implying		he would have implied	they would have implied		he would have been implying	they would have been implying
imperative	imply

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (to have as a necessary consequence): entail
• (to suggest tacitly): allude, hint, insinuate, suggest

Related terms

• implicate
• implication
• implicative
• implicit
• implicitness
• implision

Translations

to have as a consequence

• Bulgarian: означавам (bg) (označavam)
• Catalan: implicar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 意味着 (zh) (yìwèizhe)

• Czech: implikovat
• Danish: implicere
• Dutch: impliceren (nl), inhouden (nl)
• Finnish: merkitä (fi), seurata (fi)
• French: impliquer (fr)
• German: implizieren (de), zur Folge haben

• Hungarian: maga után von
• Italian: implicare (it)
• Norwegian: implisere, medføre
• Polish: pociągać (za sobą)
• Portuguese: implicar (pt)
• Russian: предполага́ть (ru) impf (predpolagátʹ)
• Spanish: implicar (es)
• Swedish: implicera (sv)
• Turkish: gerektirmek (tr), işaret etmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: припускати (prypuskaty)

to suggest by a logical inference

• Bulgarian: подразбирам (bg) (podrazbiram)
• Catalan: implicar (ca)
• Dutch: suggereren (nl)
• Finnish: tarkoittaa (fi), väittää (fi)
• French: impliquer (fr)
• German: implizieren (de)

• Norwegian: implisere
• Russian: подразумева́ть (ru) impf (podrazumevátʹ)
• Spanish: implicar (es)
• Turkish: gerektirmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: мати на увазі (uk) (maty na uvazi)

to express suggestively rather than as a direct statement

• Arabic: اِنْطَوَى‎ (inṭawā)
• Belarusian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: загатвам (bg) (zagatvam), намеквам (bg) (namekvam)
• Catalan: insinuar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暗示 (zh) (ànshì), 暗指 (zh) (ànzhǐ)

• Czech: naznačit
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: vihjailla (fi), antaa ymmärtää, vihjata (fi)
• French: insinuer (fr), sous-entendre (fr)
• German: bedeuten (de), implizieren (de)
• Greek: υπονοώ (el) (yponoó)
• Hungarian: sugall (hu)

• Icelandic: gefa í skyn, benda til
• Japanese: ほのめかす (ja) (honomekasu)
• Norwegian: insinuere

  Bokmål: antyde (no)

• Persian: به طور ضمنی اشاره کردن‎
• Polish: sugerować (pl)
• Portuguese: dar a entender, insinuar (pt)
• Russian: намека́ть (ru) impf (namekátʹ), намекну́ть (ru) (nameknútʹ) (pf.)
• Scottish Gaelic: ciallaich, seaghaich
• Spanish: insinuar (es)
• Swedish: antyda (sv), insinuera (sv)
• Turkish: anlamına gelmek (tr), manasına gelmek
• Ukrainian: натякати (natjakaty)

See also

• connotation
• entail

Further reading

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