implicate
UK: /ˈɪm.plɪ.keɪt/ | US: /ˈɪm.plə.keɪt/
vt. to show or suggest that someone is involved in something illegal or morally wrong
vt. to involve something as a necessary part or result
vt. (formal) to twist or fold something together
implicate = im<in> + plic<fold> + ate<verb suffix>
- im<in>: Latin prefix meaning "in" or "into."
- plic<fold>: From Latin plicare, meaning "to fold" or "to twist."
- ate<verb suffix>: A suffix forming verbs, often indicating causation or action.
Etymology Origin:
The word "implicate" originates from the Latin implicare, combining im- (into) and plicare (to fold). The literal sense was "to fold or twist something into something else," which evolved metaphorically to mean "to involve or entangle someone in a situation." Over time, it gained its modern legal and logical connotations of showing involvement in wrongdoing or necessity in a result.
The evidence implicates him in the fraud scheme.
Higher taxes may implicate reduced consumer spending.
The rope was intricately implicated around the pole.
Her silence implicates her in the cover-up.
The study implicates genetics in the development of the disease.