implicitly

American  

[im-plis-it-lee] / ɪmˈplɪs ɪt li /

adverb

1. without actually saying so; in a way that does not use words.

   Consumers buying the company’s products are implicitly accepting its practices.

2. without question or reservation; absolutely.

   I trusted her implicitly and listened intently to everything she said.

3. as an inherent but hidden part of the way things are; latently.

   The threat of violence against women is implicitly present all around us, everywhere.

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Other Word Forms

• unimplicitly adverb

Etymology

Origin of implicitly

implicit ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

When you express something indirectly, you say it implicitly. Your sister might implicitly suggest that you're the one who ate the last cookie by glaring at you then looking at the empty plate. When you communicate something implicitly, you don't say it directly. Instead, you might drop hints or let your actions express it, like when a teacher doesn't stop a kid from bullying another, which implicitly says it's okay to bully. Implicitly can also be a synonym for absolutely — you trust your best friend implicitly: completely, without any reservations.

Example Sentences

You know, it wasn’t until I wrote the book that I understood that implicitly.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

"So this disinformation is either explicitly or implicitly a part of that larger campaign," he said.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Her character arc implicitly concedes this when she outgrows some of her early ways in the third act.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

In addressing these strands of the war, the prime minister - who has often seemed more comfortable handling foreign policy than domestic politics - was implicitly defending his handling of the war so far.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

It was also, at least implicitly, a justification for the strong executive leadership Washington had provided in the 1790s and that his critics had stigmatized as a monarchy.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• essentially