implicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner.
to be implicated in a crime.
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to imply as a necessary circumstance, or as something to be inferred or understood.
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to connect or relate to intimately; affect as a consequence.
The malfunctioning of one part of the nervous system implicates another part.
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Archaic. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.
verb
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to show to be involved, esp in a crime
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to involve as a necessary inference; imply
his protest implicated censure by the authorities
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to affect intimately
this news implicates my decision
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rare to intertwine or entangle
Related Words
See involve.
Other Word Forms
- implicative adjective
- implicatively adverb
Etymology
Origin of implicate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin implicātus, past participle of implicāre “to interweave,” equivalent to im- im- 1 + plicā(re) “to fold” + -ātus -ate 1; ply 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The court official said a warrant was out for the arrest of team manager Mujeeb Ur Rehman, a Pakistani national, who was also implicated in the case.
From Barron's
It raises a profound question: can the state, especially when it is implicated in killing, be trusted as the arbiter of what should remain secret?
From BBC
They allege it paid private investigators implicated in other phone-hacking lawsuits for some of the unlawful information used to generate dozens of stories.
From Barron's
The seven claimants accuse ANL of paying private investigators implicated in other phone-hacking lawsuits for some of the unlawful information used to generate dozens of stories.
From Barron's
The tribunal said his failure to tell the truth "was not driven by any fear or intimidation by a previous employer but to ensure he was not implicated in a CQC investigation".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
