conversational implicature

noun

, Philosophy, Linguistics.

1. an inference that can be drawn from an utterance, as from one that is seemingly illogical or irrelevant, by examining the degree to which it conforms to the canons of normal conversation and the way it functions pragmatically within the situation, as when “The phone is ringing,” said in a situation where both speaker and listener can clearly hear the phone, can be taken as a suggestion to answer the phone.

conversational implicature

noun

1. logic philosophy another term for implicature

Word History and Origins

Origin of conversational implicature¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

There is a point at which formal logic and conversational implicature diverge, and a claim such as "all the stolen ballots were for Trump," does not, by some bizarre application of the horseshoe theory, become more true if there were no stolen ballots in the first place.

From Salon

The practice of misleading works through what philosophers call "conversational implicature".

From BBC