implication

[ im-pli-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood:

   to resent an implication of dishonesty.

2. the act of implying:

   His implication of immediate changes surprised us.

3. the state of being implied:

   to know only by implication.

4. Logic. the relation that holds between two propositions, or classes of propositions, in virtue of which one is logically deducible from the other.
5. the act of implicating or indicating that one or more persons may be involved, as in a crime:

   The implication of his accomplices came only after hours of grueling questioning by the police.

6. the state of being implicated:

   We recently heard of his implication in a conspiracy.

7. Usually implications. relationships of a close or intimate nature; involvements:

   the religious implications of ancient astrology.

   Synonyms: connection

implication

/ ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of implicating or the state of being implicated
2. something that is implied; suggestion

   the implication of your silence is that you're bored

3. logic
   1. the operator that forms a sentence from two given sentences and corresponds to the English if … then …
   2. a sentence so formed. Usually written p→q or p⊃q, where p,q are the component sentences, it is true except when p (the antecedent) is true and q (the consequent) is false
   3. the relation between such sentences

Derived Forms

• ˌimpliˈcational, adjective

Other Words From

• impli·cation·al adjective
• nonim·pli·cation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of implication¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English implicacio(u)n, from Latin implicātiōn-, stem of implicātiō “an interweaving,” equivalent to implicāt(us) “interwoven” ( implicate ) + -ion

Example Sentences

The implication is that the women fought the good fight to save democracy, while the pendejo men essentially guaranteed its demise.

From Los Angeles Times

But Vance went ahead with the implication that testosterone makes one a Trump voter.

From Slate

To Cheney, at least, the implication was clear.

From Salon

And there's the strong implication that the killer is at least within, if not a bunch of people collaborating within, the men's group that was introduced.

From Salon

The implication from the beginning was that Rio and Agatha were involved in the past.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conclusion
• connotation
• indication
• meaning
• overtone
• ramification
• significance