Shown to be involved in or responsible for something, especially something criminal or wrong.
From Latin implicatus, past participle of implicare, meaning 'to enfold' or 'to entangle,' from in- (in) + plicare (to fold). The word entered English in the 17th century with the sense of being folded into or entangled with a situation.
The etymology of implicated beautifully captures the feeling of being caught up in wrongdoing - you're literally 'folded into' the crime like fabric being pleated together. This folding metaphor explains why we can't easily extricate ourselves once implicated; we're woven into the situation's very fabric.
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