Imply
Pronunciation
- GenAm IPA: /ɪmˈplaɪ/
- Rhymes: -aɪ
- Hyphenation: im + ply
Origin
From Old French emplier, from Latin implicare ("to infold, involve"), from in ("in") + plicare ("to fold")
Full definition of imply
Verb
- (archaic) to enfold, entangle.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.iv:And in his bosome secretly there lay
An hatefull Snake, the which his taile vptyes
In many folds, and mortall sting implyes. - (transitive, of a proposition) to have as a necessary consequenceThe proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal
- (transitive, of a person) to suggest by logical inferenceWhen I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown
- (transitive, of a person or proposition) to hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statementWhat do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't wash my hands?
Usage notes
This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See