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Literary notes about Implicate (AI summary)

In literature, the term implicate is often used to suggest that a person or element becomes connected—or even ensnared—in morally ambiguous or legally questionable circumstances. Authors use the word to show that an action, remark, or association may have wider, sometimes unintended, consequences; a character's slightest involvement might tie them to a scandal or crime, as when a simple glance or casual visit carries the risk of moral or legal entanglement [1, 2, 3]. Beyond these narrative functions, the term also appears in more technical contexts, such as medical or anatomical descriptions where structures may be implicated by their proximity to an injury or abnormality [4, 5]. Whether describing the intricate web of personal dilemmas or the precise interfacing of physical parts, implicate functions as a versatile device that underscores connections, responsibilities, and the far-reaching impact of even minor associations [6, 7].
  1. All eyes were turned on Tom, and then, as if aware that this might implicate him, the lads looked in various directions.
    — from Tom Fairfield's Schooldays; or, The Chums of Elmwood Hall by Allen Chapman
  2. At the end of a week the sentry had agreed to help me to escape, as long as the plan did not in any way implicate him.
    — from The Escaping Club by A. J. (Alfred John) Evans
  3. I told you I'd not implicate any one but myself, and I won't.
    — from Copper Streak Trail by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
  4. A similar condition may implicate the fascia lata of the thigh, or the calf muscles and their aponeuroses— crural fibrositis .
    — from Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson
  5. The chief clinical interest of this fracture lies in the fact that it may implicate the common peroneal nerve, and cause drop-foot.
    — from Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson
  6. That would never do; the absence of that militant patriot "would implicate the character of the administration, more than they can be apprised of."
    — from The Life of John Marshall, Volume 3: Conflict and construction, 1800-1815 by Albert J. (Albert Jeremiah) Beveridge
  7. So far as I am individually concerned, I would not care; but there are other men interested, and I would not want to implicate them.
    — from Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877Read in the Senate and House of Representatives May 23, 1878 by 1877 Pennsylvania. General Assembly. Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July

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