Implicitly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Implying or suggesting an idea without clear articulation
2. In a manner that conveys meaning without direct statement
3. Done or understood through unspoken hints rather than explicit words

Etymology: "Implicitly" is a plain formation: the adjective "implicit" with the suffix "-ly" added. The adjective "implicit" comes into English from the Latin "implicitus," the past participle of "implicare," meaning "to fold in" or "to entangle," so an implicit idea is one folded inside another and not laid out openly. Adding "-ly" turns the adjective into an adverb describing how something is done. The suffix has a long ancestry of its own. It descends from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," which became "-lik" in Old English and later "-ly," so the ending that marks "implicitly" carries the older sense of "in the manner of" a particular shape or kind.

Synonyms: tacitly, inherently, suggestively, implicitly, implicitly

Antonyms: explicitly, clearly, overtly, directly, plainly