imply

[im-plahy] /ɪmˈplaɪ/
verb (used with object), implied, implying.
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; Middle English implien, emplien < Middle French emplier < Latin implicāre; see implicate
Related forms
reimply, verb (used with object), reimplied, reimplying.
superimply, verb (used with object), superimplied, superimplying.
Can be confused
imply, infer (see usage note at infer)
Synonyms
3. assume, include.
Usage note
See infer.
Examples from the web for implies
  • It implies the irresistible aromas that make waking up a pleasure.
  • As the movie implies, the lack of results could be blamed on the lack of a proper experimental design in the first place.
  • If only global warming were as simple as that term implies.
  • It's not exactly homesickness, since that implies a longing for the familiar.
  • The gift is itself a civil act, and implies public deliberation.
  • It implies a protest against the iniquity of society and the harshness of fate.
  • Voluntary motherhood also implies the right of marriage without maternity.
  • If art implies the consideration of their effect upon the public, no letters were ever written with less art.
  • As his subject has grown more complex, the initial definition is refined into a conceit which implies more, though it says less.
  • Vigorous implies healthy strength and robustness: a vigorous crusader against drunk driving.
British Dictionary definitions for implies

imply

/ɪmˈplaɪ/
verb (transitive; may take a clause as object) -plies, -plying, -plied
1.
to express or indicate by a hint; suggest: what are you implying by that remark?
2.
to suggest or involve as a necessary consequence
3.
(logic) to enable (a conclusion) to be inferred
4.
(obsolete) to entangle or enfold
infer
Word Origin
C14: from Old French emplier, from Latin implicāre to involve; see implicate
Word Origin and History for implies

imply

v.

late 14c., "to enfold, enwrap, entangle" (the classical Latin sense), from Old French emplier, from Latin implicare "involve" (see implication). Meaning "to involve something unstated as a logical consequence" first recorded c.1400; that of "to hint at" from 1580s. Related: Implied; implying. The distinction between imply and infer is in "What do you imply by that remark?" But, "What am I to infer from that remark?"

implies in Technology

logic
(=> or a thin right arrow) A binary Boolean function and logical connective. A => B is a true implication unless A is true and B is false. The truth table is
A B | A => B ----+------- F F | T F T | T T F | F T T | T
It is surprising at first that A => B is always true if A is false, but if X => Y then we would expect that (X & Z) => Y for any Z.
If A is actually an expression X & Y then the implication is called a syllogism.
(2009-10-28)