imply

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imply

signify or mean; to suggest: Her words imply a lack of caring.

Not to be confused with:

infer – deduce, reason, guess; draw a conclusion: They inferred her dislike from her cold reply.

im·ply

(ĭm-plī′)

tr.v. im·plied, im·ply·ing, im·plies

a. To express or state indirectly: She implied that she was in a hurry.

b. To make evident indirectly: His fine clothes implied that he was wealthy. See Synonyms at suggest. See Usage Note at infer.

2. To involve by logical necessity; entail: Life implies growth and death.

[Middle English implien, from Old French emplier, to enfold, from Latin implicāre; see implicate.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

imply

(ɪmˈplaɪ)

vb (tr; may take a clause as object) , -plies, -plying or -plied

1. to express or indicate by a hint; suggest: what are you implying by that remark?.

2. (Logic) to suggest or involve as a necessary consequence

3. (Logic) logic to enable (a conclusion) to be inferred

4. obsolete to entangle or enfold

[C14: from Old French emplier, from Latin implicāre to involve; see implicate]

Usage: See at infer

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

im•ply

(ɪmˈplaɪ)

v.t. -plied, -ply•ing.

1. to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated.

2. to involve as a necessary circumstance: Speech implies a speaker.

3. Obs. to enfold.

[1325–75; Middle English < Middle French emplier < Latin implicāre]

usage: See infer.

imply

imply, infer - A speaker or writer implies, a hearer or reader infers; implications are incorporated in statements, while inferences are deduced from statements. Imply means "suggest indirectly that something is true," while infer means "conclude or deduce something is true"; furthermore, to imply is to suggest or throw out a suggestion, while to infer is to include or take in a suggestion.
intent, intention - Intent implies a sustained unbroken commitment or purpose, while intention implies an intermittent resolution or an initial aim or plan.

imply

– infer

1. 'imply'

If you imply that something is the case, you suggest that it is the case without actually saying so.

Somehow he implied that he was the one who had done all the work.

Her tone implied that her time and her patience were limited.

2. 'infer'

If you infer that something is the case, you decide that it is the case on the basis of the information that you have.

I inferred from what she said that you have not been well.

It is only from doing experiments that cause-and-effect relationships can be inferred.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

imply

Past participle: implied
Gerund: implying

Imperative
imply
imply

Present
I imply
you imply
he/she/it implies
we imply
you imply
they imply

Preterite
I implied
you implied
he/she/it implied
we implied
you implied
they implied

Present Continuous
I am implying
you are implying
he/she/it is implying
we are implying
you are implying
they are implying

Present Perfect
I have implied
you have implied
he/she/it has implied
we have implied
you have implied
they have implied

Past Continuous
I was implying
you were implying
he/she/it was implying
we were implying
you were implying
they were implying

Past Perfect
I had implied
you had implied
he/she/it had implied
we had implied
you had implied
they had implied

Future
I will imply
you will imply
he/she/it will imply
we will imply
you will imply
they will imply

Future Perfect
I will have implied
you will have implied
he/she/it will have implied
we will have implied
you will have implied
they will have implied

Future Continuous
I will be implying
you will be implying
he/she/it will be implying
we will be implying
you will be implying
they will be implying

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been implying
you have been implying
he/she/it has been implying
we have been implying
you have been implying
they have been implying

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been implying
you will have been implying
he/she/it will have been implying
we will have been implying
you will have been implying
they will have been implying

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been implying
you had been implying
he/she/it had been implying
we had been implying
you had been implying
they had been implying

Conditional
I would imply
you would imply
he/she/it would imply
we would imply
you would imply
they would imply

Past Conditional
I would have implied
you would have implied
he/she/it would have implied
we would have implied
you would have implied
they would have implied

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	imply - express or state indirectly connote evince, express, show - give expression to; "She showed her disappointment"
	2.	imply - suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic presuppose, suppose - require as a necessary antecedent or precondition; "This step presupposes two prior ones" intimate, suggest - imply as a possibility; "The evidence suggests a need for more clarification" connote, predicate - involve as a necessary condition of consequence; as in logic; "solving the problem is predicated on understanding it well" evince, express, show - give expression to; "She showed her disappointment"
	3.	imply - have as a logical consequence; "The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers" entail, mean necessitate - cause to be a concomitant
	4.	imply - suggest that someone is guilty incriminate, inculpate paint a picture, suggest, evoke - call to mind; "this remark evoked sadness"
	5.	imply - have as a necessary feature; "This decision involves many changes" involve feature, have - have as a feature; "This restaurant features the most famous chefs in France" carry - be necessarily associated with or result in or involve; "This crime carries a penalty of five years in prison"

imply

verb

1. suggest, hint, insinuate, indicate, signal, intimate, signify, connote, give (someone) to understand Are you implying that I had something to do with this?

2. involve, mean, entail, include, require, indicate, import, point to, signify, denote, presuppose, betoken The meeting in no way implies a resumption of contact with the terrorists. see infer

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

imply

verb

1. To lead to by logical inference:

indicate, point to, suggest.

2. To convey an idea by indirect, subtle means:

hint, insinuate, intimate, suggest.

Idiom: drop a hint.

Translations

انطوىيوحي، يَضْمِر

naznačovat

antyde

implizieren andeuten bedeuten besagen

υπαινίσσομαι υποδηλώνω υπονοώ

implicar insinuar dar a entender

edellyttääimplikoidamerkitä

impliquer insinuer signifier

burkoltan céloz

gefa í skyn

implicare insinuare sottindere sottintendere tacito accordo

ほのめかす

duoti suprastipotekstė

likt saprastnetieši norādīt

namigovati

implicera

ima etmek

意指

imply

[ɪmˈplaɪ] VT (= hint, suggest) → insinuar; (= involve) → suponer, implicar
are you implying that ...? → ¿quieres decir que ...?, ¿insinúas que ...?
what are you implying? → ¿qué insinúas?
he implied he would do it → dio a entender que lo haría
it implies a lot of work → supone or implica mucho trabajo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

imply

[ɪmˈplaɪ] vt

(= hint) → vouloir dire par là
What are you implying? → Que veux-tu dire par là?
to imply that ... → vouloir dire par là que ...
I don't wish to imply that you are stupid → Je ne veux pas dire par là que tu es stupide.

(= mean) → impliquer

(= suggest) to imply (that) ... → impliquer que ...

imply

(= suggest) → andeuten, implizieren; are you implying or do you mean to imply that …? → wollen Sie damit vielleicht sagen or andeuten, dass …?; this implies that he has changed his mind → das deutet darauf hin, dass er es sich (dat) → anders überlegt hat

(= indicate, lead to conclusion) → schließen lassen auf (+acc)

(= involve) → bedeuten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

imply

[ɪmˈplaɪ] vt (hint, suggest) → insinuare; (indicate) → implicare
it implies a lot of work → implica un sacco di lavoro

imply

(imˈplai) verb

to suggest or hint without actually stating. Are you implying that I am a liar?

impliˈcation noun

imply

v. implicar, insinuar.

References in classic literature ?

"My good friend," said the Traveller, "according to the terms of your demand my money will save my life, my life my money; you imply you will take one or the other, but not both.

View in context

To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.

View in context

He dared not do anything that would imply a stronger interest in a poor man's adopted child than could be expected from the kindliness of the young Squire, when a chance meeting suggested a little present to a simple old fellow whom others noticed with goodwill; but he told himself that the time would come when he might do something towards furthering the welfare of his daughter without incurring suspicion.

View in context

There is nothing of this kind declared in the articles that compose it; and to imply a tacit guaranty from considerations of utility, would be a still more flagrant departure from the clause which has been mentioned, than to imply a tacit power of coercion from the like considerations.

View in context

There is a very pleasant light in Tom's blue-gray eyes as he glances at the house-windows; that fold in his brow never disappears, but it is not unbecoming; it seems to imply a strength of will that may possibly be without harshness, when the eyes and mouth have their gentlest expression.

View in context

But there is this difference in the Departure: that the term does not imply so much a sea event as a definite act entailing a process - the precise observation of certain landmarks by means of the compass card.

View in context

The GDP data imply a 4.1% Q1 growth rate for the BLS output index after a Q4 trimming to 2.6% from 3.1%.

Today's U.S. GDP report

(37) Under this approach, the implied right is tied to identifiable textual provisions rather than a more general concept of representative government, and the manifestation of the institutions of representative and responsible government in written form was seen as sufficient to imply a judicially protected right contrary to the traditional constitutional theory of parliamentary sovereignty.

A comparative analysis of the doctrinal consequences of interpretive disagreement for implied constitutional rights

Absent evidence to the contrary, a court will consider the context and respond "Oh, of course, they would have meant local currency." It would imply the term that salary for work in Canada is to be paid in Canadian dollars.

What is an employment contract?

[2] Just as one's personal letters imply different versions of oneself, depending on the differing relationships with each correspondent and the purpose of each letter, so [1] the writer sets himself out with a different air depending on the needs of particular works.

Booth's The Rhetoric of Fiction and China's critical context

Here in Washington, it's a metaphor, used to imply that a political event or situation is all show and no substance, or that everyone performs their parts while already knowing what the outcome will be.

Jargon watch

They help photographers control perspective to imply depth, stress content and compare subjects in terms of scale, creating layers of meaning that express ideas.