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# implicate

verb (implicate, implicates, implicated, implicating)

«implicate» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To show or suggest that someone is involved in something wrong, such as a crime. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#m1)
2. (formal) To show that something is a cause or part of a problem: smoking is implicated in many illnesses. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#m2)
3. (formal, rare) To imply or suggest something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#m3)

### In the lessons

In detective stories, a clue or a witness implicates a suspect. In science and health news, a germ or habit is «implicated» in an illness when evidence links them. Phrases: be implicated in, implicate someone in a crime, evidence implicates.

### Examples

- The muddy footprints implicated the dog in the broken vase mystery. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x1)
- The letter implicated the butler in the theft. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x2)
- Scientists implicated a virus in the outbreak. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x3)
- He refused to say anything that might implicate his friends. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x4)
- Sugar is implicated in tooth decay. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x5)
- The detective found no evidence to implicate the gardener. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/#x6)

### Note

Usually used with «in»: «implicated in the crime». Noun: «implication» — which also means a hidden meaning or a likely result. Being implicated is not the same as being proved guilty.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «implicate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/implicate/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«implicate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/implicate.html) on Mova free.