verb
implicate
IM-plih-kayt/ˈɪmplɪkeɪt/
To show that someone is involved in wrongdoing.
The matching muddy boot print implicates the suspect in the wrongdoing.
Etymology
“Folding in” gives the image of entwining or entangling something. Applied to wrongdoing, this became involving people in a crime or showing that they are involved.
In context
And their backup plan was to frame Ryan for a crime, to get him incarcerated, and to implicate me because we had escaped from the network.
More examples
- Her testimony implicates two other people in the robbery.
- The investigation uncovered no evidence implicating him in the fraud.
- Several employees were implicated in the cover-up.
Forms
implicate · implicates · implicated · implicating
implication noun — The state of being linked to wrongdoing.
Similar words
- incriminate
- Suggests guilt more directly, rather than merely showing involvement.
- accuse
- States that someone did wrong, without necessarily providing evidence.