Which to use
“implied” is an adjective and “implies” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,929
- “implied” frequency rank
- #7,350
- “implies” frequency rank
- 15279
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | implied | implies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Suggested without being stated directly; implicated or hinted at. | third-person singular simple present indicative of imply |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set implied and implies apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
implied and implies form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “implied” becomes s in “implies” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
implied is recorded at frequency rank #7,929, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪmˈplaɪd/. implies is at rank #7,350, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈplaɪz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 15279, this pair ranks #464,979 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "implied" and "implies" be used interchangeably?
Remembering implied vs implies
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “implied”; for a verb, it's “implies”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “implied” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable