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imply - 5 dictionary results

im⋅ply

  [im-plahy]
Use imply in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -plied, -ply⋅ing.
1. to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated: His words implied a lack of faith.
2. (of words) to signify or mean.
3. to involve as a necessary circumstance: Speech implies a speaker.
4. Obsolete. to enfold.
Origin:
1325–75; ME implien, emplien < MF emplier < L implicāre; see implicate

Synonyms:
3. assume, include.

Usage note:
See infer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To imply
im·ply   (ĭm-plī')   
tr.v.   im·plied, im·ply·ing, im·plies
  1. To involve by logical necessity; entail: Life implies growth and death.
  2. To express or indicate indirectly: His tone implied disapproval. See Synonyms at suggest. See Usage Note at infer.
  3. Obsolete To entangle.

[Middle English implien, from Old French emplier, to enfold, from Latin implicāre; see implicate.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : imply
Spanish: insinuar, dar a entender,
German: besagen, andeuten,
Japanese: ほのめかす
More Translations »

imply 
c.1374, "to enfold, enwrap, entangle" (the classical L. sense), from O.Fr. emplier, from L. implicare "involve" (see implicate). Meaning "to involve something unstated as a logical consequence" first recorded 1529. The distinction between imply and infer is in "What do you imply by that remark?" But, "What am I to infer from that remark?"
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: im·ply
Pronunciation: im-'plI
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: im·plied; im·ply·ing
1 : to recognize as existing by inference or necessary consequence esp. on legal or equitable grounds imply that it was the duty of the hospital to use due care —Haase v. Starnes, 915 South Western Reporter, Second Series 675 (1996)>
2 : to make known indirectly
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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