By implication
Example: He agreed, by implication, to help with the project.
Definition
"By implication" refers to something suggested or understood indirectly without being explicitly stated. It indicates that a conclusion or agreement is drawn from context or behavior rather than direct expression, as in the phrase, 'He agreed, by implication, to help with the project.'
Etymology
The phrase "by implication" comes from the word "implication," which traces back to Latin 'implicatio,' meaning 'entanglement' or 'involvement.' It evolved in English to mean something suggested or inferred rather than directly expressed. Did you know? The term originally had a more literal sense of folding or entwining, reflecting how ideas can be wrapped into one another.
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"By implication" appears in the Vocaplus list "English - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (C1) - set 1", containing 130 commonly used expressions.
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