implicit

adjective

im·​plic·​it im-ˈpli-sət How to pronounce implicit (audio)
1
a
: capable of being understood from something else though unexpressed : implied
an implicit assumption
Still another problem for Middle America was how corporations … were allowed to breach the implicit social contract of the postwar era.Kevin Phillips
compare explicit sense 1a
b
: present but not consciously held or recognized
implicit attitudes
implicit racism
see also implicit bias
2
: not lessened by doubt : absolute, complete
There's an implicit trust between them.
The implicit confidence that her destiny must be one of luxurious ease …George Eliot
3
a
: 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
… made a deepfake video to demonstrate the dangers implicit in the technology.Andrea Bellemare
b
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 sense 4
implicitly adverb
implicitness noun

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Implicit With a Preposition

Implicit is often followed by a preposition, and that preposition is usually in:

"American Horror Story" is a pretty grisly show. No one should be too surprised by that revelation — it’s sort of the promise implicit in its name, after all.
—Lacy Baugher, The Baltimore Sun, 3 Nov. 2016

On less frequent occasions, implicit may be followed by from, with, or within:

[S]uch a ruling seemed implicit from Fullam’s comments.
—Sean O’Sullivan, The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), 4 October 2006

Implicit with the discovery of oil was the hard truth that it wasn't going to last forever.
—Warren Jones et al., Alaska Dispatch News, 1 June 2016

Russia's president was explicit, calling on the West to pressure Kiev to deliver results. Implicit within that was a threat: that Moscow will not play along with the talks forever.
—Sarah Rainsford, BBC News, 14 Aug. 2016

The black dead ocean looked like a mirror of the night; it was cold, implicit with dread and death…
—Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead, 1948

Examples of implicit in a Sentence

This assumption, implicit in innumerable statements by President Reagan … dictates most of our current political and military programs. Henry Steele Commager, Atlantic, March 1982
… in the best stories the end is implicit from the beginning. Joan Aiken, The Writer, May 1968
The goodness and strength implicit within Pen unfold but slowly. John DeBruyn, LIT, Spring 1966
The movies borrowed from other arts on the way to finding methods implicit in their medium. Bernard DeVoto, The World of Fiction, 1950
There is a sense of moral duty implicit in her writings. I have implicit trust in her honesty.
Recent Examples on the Web There are all sorts of unspoken rules in the power structures which aren’t visible in any way but are implicit. Funmi Fetto, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2024 And at times, the actions of the Chinese government read like an implicit admission that the domestic situation is not all that rosy. Dan Murphy, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024 In conjuring these trees, generative A.I. makes previously implicit correspondences in training data explicit. Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024 But as long as employers maintain implicit or explicit requirements for job applicants to hold degrees, workers with only a high school diploma will see their pool of job opportunities shrink. Preston Cooper, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Total immunity for his official conduct, Mr. Trump’s application said, is required by the separation of powers, implicit in procedures for impeaching the president and needed to prevent partisan misuse of the criminal justice system. Adam Liptak, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Into this social tinderbox AI companies have lobbed a technological Pandora’s Box whose outcomes are based on humans training the software through implicit weights and biases. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 The legacy financial system of trust imposes implicit taxes on the economy, through bank failure, government bailouts, crony capitalism, and inflation. Korok Ray, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 More interesting, however, was the implicit message his first new monologue built to. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'implicit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Medieval Latin; French implicite, going back to Middle French, "complicated, tangled," borrowed from Medieval Latin implicitus "involved, complicated, implied," going back to Latin, "involved, intricate," variant past participle of implicāre "to fold about itself, entwine, involve" — more at implicate

Note: The Latin verb implicāre has, along with other derivatives of -plicāre, two possible past participles; see note at explicit.

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of implicit was in 1613

Dictionary Entries Near implicit

Cite this Entry

“Implicit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implicit. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

implicit

adjective
im·​plic·​it im-ˈplis-ət How to pronounce implicit (audio)
1
: understood though not put clearly into words
an implicit agreement
2
: being without doubt : absolute, complete
implicit trust
implicitly adverb
implicitness noun

Legal Definition

implicit

adjective
im·​plic·​it im-ˈpli-sət How to pronounce implicit (audio)
: capable of being recognized though unexpressed : implied
implicitly adverb

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