noun / verb
import
The meaning conveyed by something.
She understands the import of his carefully chosen words.
Etymology
The Latin verb means to bring in. The meaning sense concerns what words or signs bring with them, the significance conveyed to a reader or listener.
More examples
- The remark imported a warning.
- They debated the message's true import.
- He missed the import of her silence.
Forms
import · imports · imported · importing
Similar words
- meaning
- The ordinary word for what something conveys.
- implication
- Something suggested rather than directly stated.