implicate

verb

1 he had been implicated in a financial scandal:

incriminate, compromise;

involve, connect, embroil, enmesh, ensnare;

expose;

archaic inculpate.

▷antonyms absolve.

2 viruses are known to be implicated in the development of certain cancers:

involve in, concern with, associate with, connect with, tie up with.

3 when one asks a question one implicates that one desires an answer:

imply, suggest, hint, intimate, say indirectly, indicate, insinuate, give someone to understand, give someone to believe, convey the impression, signal;

informal make out.