implication

noun im·pli·ca·tion \ ˌim-plə-ˈkā-shən \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: implication in a Sentence

Definition of implication

1 a : the act of implicating (see implicate) : the state of being implicated

b : close connection; especially : an incriminating involvement

2 a : the act of implying : the state of being implied

b (1) : a logical relation between two propositions that fails to hold only if the first is true and the second is false — see Truth Table

(2) : a logical relationship between two propositions in which if the first is true the second is true

(3) : a statement exhibiting a relation of implication

3 : something implied: such as

a : suggestion

b : a possible significance

the book has political implications

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implicative

play \ˈim-plə-ˌkā-tiv, im-ˈpli-kə-\ adjective

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implicatively

adverb

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implicativeness

noun

See implication defined for English-language learners

See implication defined for kids

Examples of implication in a Sentence

… but whereas Updike and Roth work to establish connection and coherence in the face of time's chaos, DeLillo is an artist of diffusion and dispersal, of implication and missing information. —A. O. Scott, New York Times Book Review, 21 May 2006
… the power of ideas to transform the world is itself accelerating. Although people readily agree with this observation when simply stated, very few people truly appreciate its profound implications. —Ray Kurzweil, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005
… the astronomer Edwin Hubble found that the universe is expanding, and by implication must have originated a finite time ago in an explosion popularly called the big bang. —Paul Davies, The New Physics, 1989
I'm offended by his implication that women can't be good at mathematics.
He condemned the court and, by implication, the entire legal system.
He was shocked by the implication of his partner in the theft.

Recent Examples of implication from the Web

Week 9 will involve crossover games, and some have playoff implications.

— OregonLive.com, "Oregon high school football: Complete 2018 Class 5A schedules," 6 June 2018
How the sales tax monies are ultimately divvied up has enormous implications for which Wall Street bets on Puerto Rico, if any, will pay off.

— andrew scurria, WSJ, "Puerto Rico Creditors’ Sales-Tax Dispute Moves Closer to Settlement," 6 June 2018
These facts have been interpreted to have very broad implications: that people with the Facebook app on their iPhone or Galaxy are transferring their friends’ data directly to Apple and Samsung.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "What We Know About Facebook’s Latest Data Scandal," 4 June 2018
At this scale, though, an IT issue can have global implications.

— lily hay newman, WIRED, "Massive Visa Outage Shows the Fragility of Global Payments," 1 June 2018
Republicans have maintained a dominance in rural America for years, but some top Republicans worry that making moves that hurt farmers and growers could have disastrous political implications for Republicans.

— dan merica, CNN, "Republicans in key midterm races caution against Trump's new tariffs," 31 May 2018
Schmidt believes the new rules could have far-reaching implications.

— lorraine mirabella, baltimoresun.com, "More employers offering paid summer internships, despite federal rule changes to make it easier to hire unpaid interns," 31 May 2018
The first half was marred by injuries to Mohamed Salah and Dani Carvajal, with both starters forced off hurt in developments that could have massive World Cup implications.

— avi creditor, SI.com, "WATCH: Gareth Bale's Bicycle Kick, Heroics Give Real Madrid 3rd Straight UCL Title," 26 May 2018
Marshall and his co-authors also argue the finding has policy implications.

— erik stokstad, Science | AAAS, "Should ‘superspawners’ stir up fisheries management?," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'implication.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of implication

see implicate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

IMPLICATION Defined for English Language Learners

implication

noun

Definition of implication for English Language Learners

: a possible future effect or result
: something that is suggested without being said directly : something that is implied
: the fact or state of being involved in or connected to something (such as a crime) : the fact or state of being implicated in something