implicate

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin implicatus < implico (“entangle, involve”), from plico (“fold”). Doublet of imply and employ.

verb

1. (transitive, with “in”) To show to be connected or involved in an unfavorable or criminal way.
   The evidence implicates involvement of top management in the scheme.
   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. 2013-06-29, “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.
   What did Nixon's visit to China implicate for Russia?
3. (pragmatics) To imply without entailing; to have as an implicature.
4. (archaic) To fold or twist together, intertwine, interlace, entangle, entwine.

noun

1. (philosophy) The thing implied.