imply
Say without saying
To imply is to suggest or convey meaning without stating it directly.
A raised eyebrow implies skepticism.
Are you implying I'm lying?
The word also covers logical entailment: democracy implies voting rights.
Often confused with infer—the speaker implies, the listener infers.
Suggest beyond literal meaning
- evokeBring forth mentally
- suggestOffer an idea indirectly
- associationGroup with shared aim
- overtoneSubsidiary meaning or harmonic
undertone · nuance · coloring · flavor · resonance · meaning · significance · symbolism
Offer an idea indirectly
- hintIndirect suggestion
- indicateSignal or point to
- intimateClosely personal or private
- insinuateSuggest without directly stating
allude · convey · signify · denote · gesture · signal · point · nod
Suggest without directly stating
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- imputeAssign to a cause
- aspersionDefamatory remark
- imputationAscribing fault to another
oblique · sidelong · sly · underhanded · snide · barbed · veiled · suggestive
Understood without words
- unstatedNot openly expressed
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
- understoodGrasped the meaning
- assumedTaken as true
silent · underlying · latent · veiled · indirect · covert · unexpressed · between the lines
Require as consequence
- presupposeAssume beforehand as true
- necessitateMake unavoidable or essential
- requireTo make necessary
- involveTo contain as part
mean · premise · assume · predicate · condition · stipulate · prerequisite · precondition
connote
Suggest beyond literal meaning
- evokeBring forth mentally
- suggestOffer an idea indirectly
- associationGroup with shared aim
overtone · undertone · nuance · coloring · flavor · resonance · meaning · significance · symbolism · subtext
suggest
Offer an idea indirectly
insinuate · allude · convey · signify · denote · gesture · signal · point · nod · whisper
insinuate
Suggest without directly stating
imputation · oblique · sidelong · sly · underhanded · snide · barbed · veiled · suggestive · loaded
tacit
Understood without words
- unstatedNot openly expressed
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
- understoodGrasped the meaning
assumed · silent · underlying · latent · veiled · indirect · covert · unexpressed · between the lines · unsaid
entail
Require as consequence
- presupposeAssume beforehand as true
- necessitateMake unavoidable or essential
- requireTo make necessary
involve · mean · premise · assume · predicate · condition · stipulate · prerequisite · precondition · depend
infer
Derive by reasoning
- deduceReach by reasoning
- concludeEnd or infer
- extrapolateExtend known data outward
reason · surmise · presume · assume · gather · understand · interpret · read into · construe · glean
- Suggestinghint, indicate, suggest, allude, insinuate
- communicationtelephone, conversation, inform, hand signal, messages
- expressionexpress, convey, communicate, verbal, nonverbal
- showingshow, displaying, display, exhibiting, demonstrate
- IM- wordsimmature, immobile, immune, immerse, immoral
- stative verbsbe, am, is, are, was
- implied threat
- implicit biasAutomatic, unintentional stereotyping
- implied meaningUnstated but understood sense
- implied consentPermission inferred, not stated
- legal implicationsPotential outcomes affecting rights
- implicit agreementConsent inferred, not stated
implied, implicit, implication, implying, implies, implications, implicate, implicitly