Imply vs Purpose - What's the difference?
imply | purpose |
(of a proposition) to have as a necessary consequence
(of a person) to suggest by logical inference
(of a person or proposition) to hint; to insinuate; to suggest tacitly and avoid a direct statement
(archaic) to enfold, entangle.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.iv:
An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=
, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= A result that is desired; an intention.
The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
* 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
(obsolete) Instance; example.
Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
* Macaulay
(passive ) Designed for some purpose.
(obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
As verbs the difference between imply and purpose
is that imply is (of a proposition) to have as a necessary consequence while purpose is have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.As a noun purpose is
an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.imply
English
Verb
(en-verb)- The proposition that "all dogs are mammals" implies that my dog is a mammal
- When I state that your dog is brown, I am not implying that all dogs are brown
- What do you mean "we need to be more careful with hygiene"? Are you implying that I don't wash my hands?
- And in his bosome secretly there lay / An hatefull Snake, the which his taile vptyes / In many folds, and mortall sting implyes .
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . SeeSynonyms
* (to have as a necessary consequence) entail * (to suggest tacitly) allude, hint, insinuate, suggestSee also
* connotation * entailExternal links
* *purpose
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)Ed Pilkington
‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
- United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
Sarah Glaz
Ode to Prime Numbers, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
- (Spenser)
- The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
Synonyms
* (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See alsoDerived terms
(terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purposeEtymology 2
From (etyl)Verb
(purpos)- I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
- (Spenser)