Meaning & use
implicated
Last updated
“implicated” is a form of “implicate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Shown by evidence to have played a part in a crime or something bad.
Grammar: Usually follows be or become and takes in: he was implicated in the fraud.
Patterns
- be implicated in something
- become implicated in something
Two senior managers were implicated in the accounting scandal.
He became implicated in the burglary when his fingerprints were found at the scene.
Several officials are implicated in the cover-up.
verbtransitive
Showed or suggested that someone is involved in a crime or in causing a problem.
Grammar: Takes an object and often in: the report implicated the mayor in the plot.
Patterns
- implicate someone in something
- implicate something as a cause
The witness's statement implicated her own brother in the robbery.
The investigation implicated faulty wiring in the fire.
Researchers have implicated sugary drinks in the rise of obesity.
Word forms
| base form | implicate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | implicates |
| past tense | implicated |
| -ing form | implicating |
Common combinations
- implicated in a crime
- Three men were implicated in the crime.
- implicated in a scandal
- The minister was implicated in a bribery scandal.
- implicated in a cover-up
- Staff were implicated in the cover-up.
- directly implicated
- The company was directly implicated by the leaked emails.
- implicated as a cause
- Poor sleep has been implicated as a cause of mistakes at work.
- wrongly implicated
- He claims he was wrongly implicated in the affair.
Synonyms and how they differ
- involved
- Involved is neutral and may be innocent, while implicated suggests evidence of wrongdoing.
- incriminated
- Incriminated is stronger and means evidence actually points to guilt, whereas implicated can be only a suggestion.
- entangled
- Entangled suggests being caught up in a messy situation, often unwillingly, while implicated is about suspected blame.
- embroiled
- Embroiled describes being drawn into a dispute or conflict, not necessarily a crime.
Opposites
Word family
- implication noun
- something suggested but not said, or a connection with wrongdoing
- implicate verb
- to show that someone is involved in something bad
- implicit adjective
- suggested without being stated directly
- complicit adjective
- knowingly sharing in wrongdoing
Commonly confused: implicated or implied? implicated or complicated?
implicated vs implied
Implied means suggested without being said; implicated means shown to be involved in wrongdoing.
implicated vs complicated
Complicated means hard to understand, and it has nothing to do with blame.
Practice
The leaked documents show that three executives were ______ in the scheme.
Choose one answer.
Implicated in means shown to be involved. Implied would need a different structure, implemented applies to plans, and impelled means driven.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “implicated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.