Adjacent Words

Imply definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IMPLY', v.t. [L. implico; in and plico, to fold. See Implicate.]
1. Literally, to infold or involve; to wrap up.
2. To involve or contain in substance or essence, or by fair inference, or by construction of law, when not expressed in words.
Where a malicious act is proved, a malicious intention is implied.
When a man employs a laborer to work for him, or an agent to transact business for him, the act of hiring implies an obligation,and a promise that he shall pay him a reasonable reward for his services. Contracts are express or implied; express contracts are those in which an agreement or promise is expressed by words or in writing; implied contracts are such as arise from the presumption of law, or the justice and reason of the transaction.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: express or state indirectly [syn: imply, connote]
2: suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic
3: have as a logical consequence; "The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers" [syn: entail, imply, mean]
4: suggest that someone is guilty [syn: incriminate, imply, inculpate]
5: have as a necessary feature; "This decision involves many changes" [syn: imply, involve]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (implied; implying) Etymology: Middle English emplien, from Anglo-French emplier to entangle — more at employ Date: 14th century 1. obsolete enfold, entwine 2. to involve or indicate by inference, association, or necessary consequence rather than by direct statement <rights imply obligations> 3. to contain potentially 4. to express indirectly <his silence implied consent> Synonyms: see suggest Usage: see infer

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (-ies, -ied) 1 (often foll. by that + clause) strongly suggest the truth or existence of (a thing not expressly asserted). 2 insinuate, hint (what are you implying?). 3 signify. Derivatives: implied adj. impliedly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF emplier f. L implicare (as IMPLICATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Imply Im*ply", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Implied; p. pr. & vb. n. Implying.] [From the same source as employ. See Employ, Ply, and cf. Implicate, Apply.] 1. To infold or involve; to wrap up. [Obs.] ``His head in curls implied.'' --Chapman. 2. To involve in substance or essence, or by fair inference, or by construction of law, when not include virtually; as, war implies fighting. Where a mulicious act is proved, a mulicious intention is implied. --Bp. Sherlock. When a man employs a laborer to work for him, . . . the act of hiring implies an obligation and a promise that he shall pay him a reasonable reward for his services. --Blackstone. 3. To refer, ascribe, or attribute. [Obs.] Whence might this distaste arise? If [from] neither your perverse and peevish will. To which I most imply it. --J. Webster. Syn: To involve; include; comprise; import; mean; denote; signify; betoken. See Involve.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(implies, implying, implied) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you imply that something is the case, you say something which indicates that it is the case in an indirect way. 'Are you implying that I have something to do with those attacks?' she asked coldly... She felt undermined by the implied criticism. = suggest VERB: V that, V-ed, also V n 2. If an event or situation implies that something is the case, it makes you think it likely that it is the case. Exports in June rose 1.5%, implying that the economy was stronger than many investors had realized... A 'frontier-free' Europe implies a greatly increased market for all economic operators. = suggest VERB: V that, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Involve (as a consequence), include (by implication), import, signify, mean.

Moby Thesaurus

accuse, adumbrate, advert to, affect, allege, allegorize, allude to, approve, argue, arraign, article, assume, attest, be construed as, bespeak, betoken, bid fair, book, breathe, bring, bring accusation, bring charges, bring to book, bring to mind, call for, charge, cite, complain, comprise, connote, contain, demonstrate, denote, denounce, denunciate, display, drop a hint, entail, evidence, evince, exhibit, express, fasten on, fasten upon, finger, furnish evidence, give a hint, give indication of, give prospect of, give the cue, glance at, go to show, hang something on, hint, hint at, hold out hope, illustrate, impeach, implicate, import, impute, include, indicate, indict, infer, inform against, inform on, insinuate, intimate, involve, lay charges, lead to, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint, make fair promise, make likely, manifest, mark, mean, mean to say, pin on, point indirectly to, point to, prefer charges, press charges, presume, presuppose, promise, prompt, put on report, raise expectation, refer to, report, reproach, require, set forth, show, show signs of, signal, signalize, signify, speak for itself, speak volumes, spell, stand fair to, stand for, subsume, suggest, suppose, symbolize, symptomatize, take, take for granted, take in, take to task, task, taunt with, tax, tell, tend to show, twit