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imply

 - 4 dictionary results

im⋅ply

  [im-plahy]
–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.
Use imply in a Sentence
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. 2010.
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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Word Origin & History

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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Legal Dictionary

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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