# imply

Pronunciation: say "im-PLY" /ɪmˈplaɪ/

## Verb

1. To hint at or suggest something indirectly, without stating it openly.
   - Simple: To suggest something without saying it openly.
   - _The manager's careful wording seemed to imply that layoffs were coming._
   - _By praising everyone else, she implied that he alone had failed._
2. To suggest something as a logical conclusion drawn from the available facts.
   - Simple: To suggest that something is true because of other facts.
   - _The data imply a strong link between diet and health._
   - _Rising prices implied that demand had outpaced supply._
3. To have something as a necessary consequence, so that one thing inevitably leads to the other.
   - Simple: To make something happen as a sure result.
   - _Doubling the recipe implies using twice as much flour._
   - _These assumptions imply a contradiction we cannot ignore._

## Verb

4. To enfold or entangle something, wrapping it up within folds, coils, or growth. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To wrap something up or tangle it together.

## Origin

'Imply' comes from Middle English 'implien', borrowed from Old French 'emplier', from Latin 'implicare' ('to infold, involve'), formed from 'in' ('in') plus 'plicare' ('to fold'). It is a doublet of 'employ' and 'implicate'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/imply (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).