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Define vs. Imply — What's the Difference?

Define vs. Imply — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Define and Imply

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Compare with Definitions

Define

State or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of
The contract will seek to define the client's obligations

Imply

To express or state indirectly
She implied that she was in a hurry.

Define

Mark out the boundary or limits of
The river defines the park's boundary

Imply

To make evident indirectly
His fine clothes implied that he was wealthy. See Usage Note at infer.

Define

To state the precise meaning of (a word or sense of a word, for example).
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Imply

To involve by logical necessity; entail
Life implies growth and death.

Define

To describe the nature or basic qualities of; explain
Define the properties of a new drug.
A study that defines people according to their median incomes.

Imply

To have as a necessary consequence
The proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal.

Define

To make clear the outline or form of; delineate
Gentle hills that were defined against the sky.

Imply

To suggest by logical inference
When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown.

Define

To specify distinctly
Define the weapons to be used in limited warfare.

Imply

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?

Define

To give form or meaning to
"For him, a life is defined by action" (Jay Parini).

Imply

(archaic) to enfold, entangle.

Define

To make or write a definition.

Imply

To infold or involve; to wrap up.

Define

To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
The defining power of an optical instrument

Imply

To involve in substance or essence, or by fair inference, or by construction of law, when not include virtually; as, war implies fighting.
Where a malicious act is proved, a malicious intention is implied.
When a man employs a laborer to work for him, . . . the act of hiring implies an obligation and a promise that he shall pay him a reasonable reward for his services.

Define

(obsolete) To settle, decide an argument etc.

Imply

To refer, ascribe, or attribute.
Whence might this distaste arise?
If [from] neither your perverse and peevish will.To which I most imply it.

Define

To express the essential nature of something.
I define myself as a techno-anarchist.
Your past mistakes do not define who you are.

Imply

Express or state indirectly

Define

To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol.
The textbook defined speed as velocity divided by time.

Imply

Suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic

Define

To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression.
Person 1: Is she good at math?
Person 2: Define "good." If you mean if she is faster than the average middle schooler at multiplication, then yes. If you mean if she is able to do multivariable calculus, then no.

Imply

Have as a logical consequence;
The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers

Define

To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.
To define the legal boundaries of a property

Imply

Suggest that someone is guilty

Define

(mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.

Imply

Have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail;
This decision involves many changes

Define

(programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.

Define

To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end.

Define

To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country.

Define

To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument.
Rings . . . very distinct and well defined.

Define

To determine the precise signification of; to fix the meaning of; to describe accurately; to explain; to expound or interpret; as, to define a word, a phrase, or a scientific term.
They define virtue to be life ordered according to nature.

Define

To determine; to decide.

Define

Give a definition for the meaning of a word;
Define `sadness'

Define

Determine the essential quality of

Define

Determine the nature of;
What defines a good wine?

Define

Delineate the form or outline of;
The tree was clearly defined by the light
The camera could define the smallest object

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