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Glite Dictionary
to implicate in

to implicate in

40 6.6
Show that someone is involved in a crime
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈɪmplɪˌkeɪt ɪn/
translation icon : implicar en
  • If you're caught, if you're implicated in this crime, you are not under any circumstances to reveal my identity or participation.
  • implicated in the case
  • become implicated in
  • deeply implicated in

Why are Apple and Meta not implicated in any of this?

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Examples

  • The police found evidence that could implicate him in the robbery.

  • I didn't want to implicate him in the murder if he didn't have anything to do with it.

    Drive-In Massacre (1976)

  • We're all three implicated in this now.

    Chappaquiddick (2018)

  • Maybe she thought that by putting me in a bad light, she could implicate me in the murder.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • That is an act which clearly implicates Joe Biden in this whole process.

  • But, he might implicate his sister in the Fox shooting.

    Spirits (1990)

  • Now, he is considered to be an international criminal implicated in dozens of cases around the world.

    Hacker (2016)

  • I don't think I wanna be implicated in this.

    Fire Island (2022)

  • Now, I can tell you right off, but we believe you weren't implicated in the way that you thought you were.

    Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

  • Pring's Ukrainian wife is clearly implicated in his death.

Synonyms

to involve
vsto implicate in
∞ 3.0

Be connected with a crime or something that causes serious trouble

is limited to showing or suggesting criminal involvement rather than general connection
to implicate
vsto implicate in
82 7.2

Show that someone helped commit a crime

is the same meaning but used with a following preposition to mark involvement
to incriminate
vsto implicate in
50 7.4

To make someone seem guilty of a crime by showing proof against them

is about showing or suggesting involvement rather than presenting firm evidence
to inculpate
vsto implicate in
  • Formal
1 9.9

To say someone is guilty of a crime

is about showing possible involvement rather than openly accusing someone

Antonyms

to absolve
  • Formal
50 7.2

Make someone officially free from blame, guilt, or responsibility

How Incriminating

to accuse
∞ 2.7
to implicate in
40 6.6
to suggest
∞ 1.6
mention
220 2.5

Surface Forms

implicate in infinitive
implicated in past
implicated in past participle
implicating in present participle
implicates in third person singular

Morphology

implicate + in

The verb 'implicate' already encodes the idea of showing or suggesting someone's involvement, and the preposition 'in' simply marks the domain (e.g. a crime). The combined meaning is a straightforward verb + preposition composition and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Implicate in may come from an old word that meant 'to fold in' or 'to tangle'. Imagine a person wrapped and caught in a rope; to be implicated in something is like being 'tangled up' in it, so the phrase now means 'to show someone is involved in a crime'.