imply
im·ply/ɪmˈplaɪ/verb
imply is spelled I-M-P-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (im·ply). It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, imply means “To have as a necessary consequence; to lead to (something) as a consequence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in imply?
| Letters | 5: I-M-P-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: im·ply |
| In writing | 6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is imply?
Imply appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce imply?
- US /ɪmˈplaɪ/
Imply has 2 syllables, split im·ply in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-imply.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with imply?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as imply from its last stressed vowel (/aɪ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: limpy.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of imply
- implies present, singular, he/she/it
- implying participle, present
- implied participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does imply mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To have as a necessary consequence; to lead to (something) as a consequence.
Correlation does not imply causation
- 2
To suggest by logical inference.
When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown.
- 3
To hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement.
What do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't wash my hands?
- 4
archaicTo enfold, entangle.
noun
- 1
A logic gate that implements material implication.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Imply in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impliquer , insinuer, sous-entendre |
| German | implizieren, zur Folge haben , bedeuten, sagen wollen |
| Portuguese | implicar, ter como consequência, acarretar , dar a entender, insinuar |
| Spanish | implicar, acarrear, conllevar , insinuar, dar a entender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does imply come from?
From Middle English implien, emplien, borrowed from Old French emplier, from Latin implicare (“to infold, involve”), from in (“in”) + plicare (“to fold”). Doublet of employ and implicate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).