implication
Pluralimplications
- 1A possible effect or result that comes from a choice or action.
Like the rings that spread out when you drop a stone into water.
The new law has serious implications for small businesses.
One implication of cutting the budget is fewer staff next year.
Similarconsequence, ramification, repercussion, effect, result
Note
- 2A meaning that is suggested but not said directly in words.
Like a wink that tells you something without any words.
I caught the implication that I wasn't welcome at the meeting.
She denied any implication that her partner had lied.
Similarsuggestion, insinuation, hint, innuendo, meaning
Note
- 3The state of being involved in something, often a crime or wrongdoing.
Like being caught in a net that ties you to a crime.
His implication in the scandal ended his career overnight.
The leaked emails led to her implication in the fraud.
Similarinvolvement, entanglement, complicity, incrimination
Oppositeexoneration, vindication
- 4The act of showing that someone is involved in something wrong.
Like pointing a finger at someone to say they did it.
The detective's implication of the manager came as a shock.
Her implication of several coworkers angered the whole team.
Similarincrimination, inculpation
Oppositeexoneration, exculpation, vindication
Note
- 5Something that must be true because of other things that are already true.
Like knowing the ground is wet because you saw it rain.
The implication of these facts is that he must have known.
If you accept the first idea, the implication follows naturally.
Similarentailment, deduction, inference
- 6A logic link between two statements meaning that if the first is true, the second is true too.
Like a promise that only breaks if the first part happens but the second doesn't.
In the formula, the implication says that rain leads to wet roads.
Students learned to read the implication from left to right.
Similarconditional
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of implication apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It came from Latin "implicatio," through Middle French "implication."