The difference between Imply and Suggest

When used as verbs, imply means to have as a necessary consequence, whereas suggest means to imply but stop short of saying explicitly.


check bellow for the other definitions of Imply and Suggest

  1. Imply as a verb (transitive, of a proposition):

    to have as a necessary consequence

    Examples:

    "The proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal"

  2. Imply as a verb (transitive, of a person):

    to suggest by logical inference

    Examples:

    "When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown"

  3. Imply as a verb (transitive, of a person or proposition):

    to hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement

    Examples:

    "What do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't [[wash]] my hands?"

  4. Imply as a verb (archaic):

    to enfold, entangle.

  1. Suggest as a verb (transitive):

    To imply but stop short of saying explicitly.

    Examples:

    "Are you suggesting that I killed my wife?"

  2. Suggest as a verb:

    To make one suppose; cause one to suppose (something).

    Examples:

    "The name "hamburger" suggests that hamburgers originated from Hamburg."

  3. Suggest as a verb (transitive):

    To mention something as an idea, typically in order to recommend it

    Examples:

    "I’d like to suggest that we go out to lunch. I’d like to suggest going out to lunch."

    "The guidebook suggests that we visit the local cathedral, which is apparently beautiful."

  4. Suggest as a verb (obsolete, transitive):

    To seduce; to prompt to evil; to tempt.