Definition of "implicate"

implicate

/ˈɪmplɪkeɪt/

verb
third-person singular simple present implicates, present participle implicating, simple past and past participle implicated
1. (transitive, with “in”) To show to be connected or involved in an unfavorable or criminal way.
  Quotations
  But it is of no use talking now; the servants will soon be stirring, and it would be rather awkward to be found here." "For you, perhaps, madam," sneered Sir George. "Rather for yourself," replied she, with the greatest composure; "you might be implicated in the charge of murder."
  1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Assignation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 256
  Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.
  2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3
2. (transitive, nonstandard) To imply, to have as a necessary consequence or accompaniment.
3. (pragmatics) To imply without entailing; to have as an implicature.
4. (archaic) To fold or twist together, intertwine, interlace, entangle, entwine.
noun
plural implicates
1. (philosophy) The thing implied.