Meaning & use
implied warranty
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Meaning
nouncountablelegal
A guarantee about a product or service that the law assumes exists, even though the seller never stated it, such as that goods are fit for normal use.
Grammar: Usually a countable noun: the law creates an implied warranty, or several implied warranties.
Patterns
- an implied warranty of something
- an implied warranty that something is true
Even without a written promise, the store was bound by an implied warranty that the toaster would work.
Many states recognize an implied warranty of habitability for rented apartments.
The seller tried to disclaim every implied warranty by selling the car as is.
Word forms
| plural | implied warranties |
|---|
Common combinations
- implied warranty of merchantability
- The implied warranty of merchantability means a kettle should boil water.
- implied warranty of fitness
- The seller knew the tires were for snow, so an implied warranty of fitness applied.
- breach an implied warranty
- The company breached an implied warranty when the laptop failed in a week.
- disclaim an implied warranty
- Used-car dealers often disclaim any implied warranty in the contract.
- implied warranty claim
- She filed an implied warranty claim after the washing machine leaked.
Synonyms and how they differ
- implicit guarantee
- This is a looser everyday phrase; implied warranty is the precise legal term with defined rules.
- statutory warranty
- A statutory warranty comes directly from a specific statute, while an implied warranty may arise from general law or the nature of the sale.
- tacit assurance
- This is a rare, non-legal way to describe an unspoken promise and has no legal force as a term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: implied warranty or express warranty? implied warranty or guarantee?
implied warranty vs express warranty
An express warranty is stated openly in words or writing; an implied warranty exists by law without being stated.
implied warranty vs guarantee
A guarantee is often a voluntary promise from a maker, while an implied warranty is imposed by law.
Practice
A buyer discovers a new blender cannot blend anything, though the seller never made any promise. Which legal idea may help the buyer?
Choose one answer.
An implied warranty arises by law even without a stated promise. An express warranty fails because nothing was stated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “implied warranty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.