First Known Use: 1599
Dictionary
implicit
adjective im·plic·it \im-ˈpli-sət\
: understood though not clearly or directly stated
: not affected by doubt
Full 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
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Examples of IMPLICIT
- 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
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Origin of IMPLICIT
Latin implicitus, past participle of implicare (see implicate)
Related to IMPLICIT
IMPLICIT Defined for Kids
implicit
adjective im·plic·it \im-ˈpli-sət\
Definition of IMPLICIT for Kids
1
: understood though not put clearly into words <an implicit warning>
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