implicit

im·plic·it

adjective \im-ˈpli-sət\

Definition of IMPLICIT

1

a : capable of being understood from something else though unexpressed : implied <an implicit assumption>

b : involved in the nature or essence of something though not revealed, expressed, or developed : potential <a sculptor may see different figures implicit in a block of stone — John Dewey>

c of a mathematical function : defined by an expression in which the dependent variable and the one or more independent variables are not separated on opposite sides of an equation — compare explicit 4

2

: being without doubt or reserve : unquestioning <an implicit trust>

— im·plic·it·ly adverb

— im·plic·it·ness noun

Examples of IMPLICIT

1. There is a sense of moral duty implicit in her writings.
2. I have implicit trust in her honesty.
3. This assumption, implicit in innumerable statements by President Reagan … dictates most of our current political and military programs. —Henry Steele Commager, Atlantic, March 1982
4. … in the best stories the end is implicit from the beginning. —Joan Aiken, The Writer, May 1968
5. The goodness and strength implicit within Pen unfold but slowly. —John DeBruyn, LIT, Spring 1966
6. The movies borrowed from other arts on the way to finding methods implicit in their medium. —Bernard DeVoto, The World of Fiction, 1950

Origin of IMPLICIT

Latin implicitus, past participle of implicare (see implicate)

First Known Use: 1599

Related to IMPLICIT

Synonyms

implied, tacit, unexpressed, unspoken, unvoiced, wordless

Antonyms

explicit, express, expressed, spoken, stated, voiced

Related Words

inferred, presumed; construed, interpreted; unannounced, undeclared, unsaid, untold; hinted, insinuated, intimated, suggested

Near Antonyms

apparent, blatant, evident, manifest, obvious, plain, straightforward; unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable

Rhymes with IMPLICIT

complicit, elicit, explicit, illicit, solicit