Implicit
Etymology
From Latin "implicitus," a form of the past participle of "implicāre" ("to entangle, to involve"), from "in-" ("in") and "plicāre" ("to fold"). The literal image is of something folded in. Its sibling explicit ("unfolded, laid open") is its natural opposite; implicit keeps the meaning tucked inside.
adjective · /im-PLIS-it/
Implied or contained within something without being stated outright.
What it names
Use it for what is logically folded into a situation — an implicit assumption, implicit bias — the meaning that is really there even though no one spelled it out.
Example
There was an implicit assumption in the whole plan that the funding would keep coming.
Related idea
Compare tacit: both are unstated, but tacit stresses a knowing agreement left in silence, while implicit stresses that the meaning is logically embedded in what was said or done.
adjective · /im-PLIS-it/
Absolute and unquestioning; complete without reservation.
What it names
unconditional trust or obedience — faith so total it is never examined
Example
The crew followed the captain with implicit trust.
Related idea
A surprising second sense: here “implicit” means not “unspoken” but “without holding anything back” — trust so entire it needs no stated condition, the opposite of a tacit reservation.
See also