implicate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin implicatus < implico (“entangle, involve”), from plico (“fold”). Doublet of imply and employ.

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /ˈɪmplɪkeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈɪmplɪkət/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Verb

implicate (third-person singular simple present implicates, present participle implicating, simple past and past participle implicated)

1. (transitive, usually with in) To show to be connected or involved in an unfavorable or criminal way.

   The evidence implicates involvement of top management in the scheme.

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Assignation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 256:

     But it is of no use talking now; the servants will soon be stirring, and it would be rather awkward to be found here." "For you, perhaps, madam," sneered Sir George. "Rather for yourself," replied she, with the greatest composure; "you might be implicated in the charge of murder."

   • 1879, Robert J[ones] Burdette, Hawk-Eyes, New York, N.Y.: G. W. Carleton & Co., Publishers, page 137:

     I shall cancel, without further provocation, the next lecture engagement that is implicated with a peep o' day train.

   • 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut]”, in The Economist‎, volume 407, number 8842, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-27, pages 72–73:

     Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

2. (transitive, nonstandard) To imply, to have as a necessary consequence or accompaniment.

   What did Nixon's visit to China implicate for Russia?

3. (pragmatics) To imply without entailing; to have as an implicature.
4. (archaic) To fold or twist together, intertwine, interlace, entangle, entwine.

Related terms

• implication
• implicative
• implicature
• implicit
• implicitness
• imply

Translations

to connect or involve

Bulgarian: въвличам (bg) (vǎvličam), забърквам (bg) (zabǎrkvam), замесвам (bg) (zamesvam) Chinese: Mandarin: 负累 (zh) (fùlèi), 負累／负累 (zh) (fùlèi), 牽涉／牵涉 (zh) (qiānshè) Dutch: impliceren (nl) Finnish: yhdistää (fi) French: impliquer (fr) Italian: implicare (it) Maori: whakahīrau Portuguese: implicar (pt) Russian: вовлекать (ru) (vovlekatʹ), впутывать (ru) (vputyvatʹ) Spanish: implicar (es)

to have as an implicature

German: implikatieren

to have as a necessary circumstance

Bulgarian: водя до (vodja do) Finnish: merkitä (fi) French: impliquer (fr) Italian: implicare (it)

to intertwine — see intertwine

Noun

implicate (plural implicates)

1. (philosophy) The thing implied.

   Coordinate terms: implicand, implicans

See also

• (connect with a crime): grass, inform, squeal

Anagrams

• ampelitic

Italian

Verb

implicate

1. inflection of implicare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative
   3. feminine plural past participle

Latin

Participle

implicāte

1. vocative masculine singular of implicātus

Spanish

Verb

implicate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of implicar combined with te