Which term means 'to suggest without stating directly'?

• A. Limited Narrator
• B. Evaluative Lexis
• C. Imply
• D. Infer

Answer: (C)

Imply means to suggest something without stating it directly. When someone implies a meaning, they drop hints or clues so you sense what they mean without them saying it outright. The idea is nonverbal or indirect communication—the message is conveyed through implication, not explicit statement. You recognize the intended meaning by reading between the lines.

A helpful contrast is with infer: to infer is what the listener or reader does after hearing or reading something. You infer a meaning based on the hints provided. For example, if someone says, “It’s getting late,” you infer that they might want to wrap things up or leave. The speaker, meanwhile, is implying that suggestion without saying it outright.

The other terms don’t fit because they describe different concepts. Limited narrator refers to a narrator whose perspective is restricted, not the act of suggesting indirectly. Evaluative lexis refers to vocabulary that expresses judgment or attitude, not the act of hinting a meaning.